(photo of Taira Kaawaloa courtesy of Rick Ogata)

HILO, Hawai`i--After multiple four and five set matches two weeks ago on Oahu, the last thing anyone expected in the first match of the PacWest #2 vollleyball tournament in Hilo was a three-set sweep.

That's what they got when UH Hilo rolled past Hawaii Pacific in the morning match at Vulcan Gymnasium, 25-13, 25-14, 25-17. The Vulcans improved to 4-1 on the season while the Sharks dropped to 1-4.

UH Hilo squares off with Chaminade next at 2:30, followed by HPU and the Silverswords at 7 pm.

The Vulcans led nearly from start to finish in each set and 12 players made marks in the stat sheet. Alexandria Parisian led with 10 kills and a .444 hitting percentage, followed by Bria Beale with nine kills (.304) and Taira Kaawaloa with seven.  Kendall Kott had 30 assists, Tani Hoke hd 19 digs in the three sets and Ashton Jessee had eight block assists.

In the first set, the Vulcans trailed for one of the only times in the match at 5-3 and then tied it at 6-6. They then scored five straight points with a combintion of blocks and kills by Beale and Jessee. They roll out to a 21-11 lead and the eventual 25-13 set.

UHH jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set and a Hoke ace put them up 15-5. Their largest lead of the set was 23-9 before the 25-14 final tally. In the third set, the home team broke a 4-4 tie with a 11-5 run and never trailed after that. They led 21-11 again before the final margin of 25-17. 

The Vulcans had six service aces in the match and 16 blocks. HPU was led in the stat column by Cameryn Collie, Nicole Ferris and Sunny Brown's four kills each. Collie also had 11 digs.

WATCH AGAIN (if you purchased the match originally).

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