POMONA, Calif.--The good news is, you now know what it takes to beat one of the best teams in the country. The sobering news is that you were so, so, so close to doing just that but fell just short.

That's how the Hawai`i Hilo volleyball team feels after a near-upset of No. 3 nationally ranked Western Washington on Saturday afternoon at the D2 West Region Showcase at Kellogg Arena. The Vulcans had the Vikings, who reached the NCAA title match a year ago, on the ropes, leading two sets to one. But WWU showed championship moxie by taking the final two sets and the match, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 15-10.

The Vikings, who had not dropped a set at the Showcase prior to today, improved to 8-0 on the season. They are the defending GNAC  and West Region champions. The Vulcans fell to 4-3, with host Cal Poly Pomona still on the docket at 5 pm Pacific time tonight.

"I was really proud of how we played," said Vulcan head coach Chris Leonard. "We know now that we can compete physically with any team in the country. We have a lot of work to do, but we made some progress today."

What a match it was. 

The Vulcans rode their calling card of balance and strong net play to the near upset. UH Hilo had an astounding five players with double-figure kill numbers, led by a career-high 17 from Amber Tai. The junior outside hitter also had three service aces. 

Alexandria Parisian added 14 kills (.308), Bria Beale had 11 with 14 digs, Emily Wade added 11 (hitting.391) and Ashton Jessee had 11 kills (.409) with a solo block and five block assists. Freshman Kendall Kott had a career-high 54 assists and 12 digs, and senior libero Kaila Lizama added 18 digs.

Kayleigh Harper had 23 kills and Calley Heilborn had 20 for the hard-hitting Vikings.

The Vulcans spread the ball around from the beginning and gave the Vikings problems at the net. UHH led almost the entire first set, rolling out to 12-7 and 15-10 leads. WWU would rally back, taking a 20-18 lead on a service ace, but the Vulcans answered with an ace of their own by Tai to tie the match at 20-20. The teams traded points until LIzama's ace put UHH up 23-21. The Vikings would tie it at 23-23, but UH Hilo took the next two points, the 25th on Parisian's kill. (25-23).

Western Washington led the whole second set, pushing out to 19-13 at one juncture. UH Hilo rallied, climbing to within a point (24-23) after a Wade kill, but the Viks closed out to take the set (25-23). 

In the third set, the Vikings took a 18-11 lead, but UH Hilo climbed back again. Kills by Beale, Tai and Jessee got UHH to within one point (22-21) and Parisian's kill tied it at 22-22. A Wade put-away made it 23-23, and Tai finished the set with a slam (25-23) , capping three straight points for the Vulcans.

The Vulcans led for the full first half of the fourth set, making the upset seem very real. The first Viking lead came at 18-17, and the set was tied at 19-19. But the Vikings scored the final six points of the set to send the match to a decisive fifth set. WWU hit a hot .343 in the fourth.

In the fifth, the Vikings stayed hot. They would ultimately convert on 50 percent of their shots (.500), leading the whole way. The Vulcans got close twice at 9-8 and 12-10 (Kott ace), but WWU scored the final three points of the set to clinch the victory. 

"Western Washington is a very good attacking team and they do so many other things well," Leonard added. "We know that we are close. We need to be more consistent, but this was a good step in the right direction."

The Vulcans will have to recoup in a hurry, playing in two hours against the host Broncos, who were ranked No. 20 nationally in the AVCA Division II Preseason Poll. 

"Our big challenge now is not to fall flat in our next match," Leonard concluded. "Cal Poly Pomona is another very good team. We will have our work cut out for us." Read Full Article