HILO, Hawai'i – The Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball team put out one of its more efficient efforts of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Fresno Pacific (25-13, 25-21, 25-17) Monday evening in second-round Pacific West Conference play at the Vulcan Gymnasium on Think Pink Night.
Taylor Tullo (.696) and Raelee Samio (.500) totaled 16 and eight kills, respectively, with both finishing with zero hitting errors as the Vulcans hit .352.
The two teams had previously met near the beginning of the month on Oct. 4 in Fresno with the Vulcans coming up on the short end of the stick of a five-set match.
"We were a lot cleaner than when we played Fresno the last time. We had a ton of unforced errors and the goal tonight was to not score points for them and try to play smarter," fifth-year Hawai'i Hilo head coach Chris Leonard said. "We told the team that the only difference right now between where we are and the teams that are at the top of the conference is consistency. It's not a question of talent or athleticism."
Monday's match wrapped up a four-game home stand for the Vulcans as they will head to Southern California and play five matches in the span of nine days.
"It's a really good way to finish this home stand right before we get on a plane and head out for a really really challenging stretch of games against four of the five teams who are in the top half of the conference with the other one just outside of that," Leonard said. "We'll have our hands full, but the goal is to try to play cleaner going forward and I think this was a great game to try to set the tone for the road trip."
With the win, Hawai'i Hilo moved into a tie for No. 5 in the conference standings with Concordia University Irvine (6-5).
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 9-10 overall (6-5 PacWest) while Fresno Pacific moved to a 4-8 conference record (8-13 overall).
The Vulcans will head back to the continent for a five-game road slate in Southern California taking on Point Loma (Oct. 27), Biola (Oct. 28), Concordia University Irvine (Oct. 30), Westmont (Nov. 1) and Azusa Pacific (Nov. 4).
Hawai'i Hilo will then return for its final two home matches of the regular season, hosting Dominican (Nov. 8) and Academy of Art (Nov. 9) — the latter of which will be Senior Night celebrating the Vulcans' two departing seniors.
THINK PINK NIGHT
October is recognized in the U.S. as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The team wore pink-colored jerseys and fans were encouraged to wear pink to the event to receive free admission.
ONLINE TICKETS
Single-game tickets are now available to be purchased online through Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics' recently launched online ticket platform in partnership with AudienceView Campus.
Tickets for all soccer, women's volleyball and men's and women's basketball home events are available at HiloAthletics.com/tickets.
