HILO, Hawai'i – The Hawai'i Hilo women's volleyball team once again gave the crowd a show with a five-set battle but couldn't quite close the match out as the Vulcans fell to Azusa Pacific, 25-22, 25-20, 15-25, 22-25, 12-15 Wednesday evening in Pacific West Conference play at the Vulcan Gymnasium.
The Vulcans jumped on the Cougars early by taking the first two sets, but Azusa Pacific flipped the script to stay just out of reach the rest of the way for the reverse sweep and the win.
After being down 13-9 in set No. 5, the Vulcans rallied with three straight points to make it a one-score match, but the Cougars closed it out with kills by Kailtin Craig and Kyra Palmbush.
By The Numbers
- Samara Cruz (Escondido, California/Escondido HS) tallied a season-high 19 digs to go along with a team-leading 16 kills and three aces.
- Nikki Logan (Huntington Beach, California/Edison HS) had another strong performance putting down eight of her 13 kills in the second set, but the junior did not return to action after exiting late in the third set.
- Imani Lee (Hacienda Heights, California/Glen A. Wilson HS) saw extended action to rack up eight kills, seven digs and an ace. Five of the freshman's kills came in the fourth set.
- Senior Cara Bolte (Honolulu, Hawai'i/Maryknoll School) also had an expanded role to knock down a career-high 10 kills
- Tani Hoke (Kailua, Hawai'i/Maryknoll School) (27), Madelyn Blandford (Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i/Kealakehe HS) (14) and Emerson Reinke (Arvada, Colorado/Ralston Valley HS) (13) each finished with double-digit digs as part of a team total of 102, making it the second time this season the Vulcans had three-digit figures.
- APU's Annaka Jorgenson totaled 18 kills with Palmbush and Craig also finishing in double-digit figures at 12 each.
What's Next
Hawai'i Hilo fell to 2-19 overall, 2-13 PacWest as Azusa Pacific improved to 9-6 in the PacWest (12-10 overall).
The Vulcans will be back at Vulcan Gymnasium for their final home match of the season Saturday, Oct. 29 to take on Biola (10-5 PacWest, 13-9 overall) for Senior Night. Cara Bolte (Honolulu, Hawai'i/Maryknoll School), Kendall Kott (Shingle Springs, California/Ponderosa HS), Maile Goss (San Diego, California/San Marcos HS) and Mia Takai (Hilo, Hawai'i/Hilo HS) will be the four seniors honored following the match.
Following Saturday, Hawai'i Hilo will hit the road for a four-game trip to northern California to close out the 2022 season.
The Cougars will travel to O'ahu to play Chaminade and Hawai'i Pacific this weekend.