FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball team enjoyed another early-season hard-fought well-earned victory with a four-set upset of No. 14 Alaska Anchorage Friday evening in a non-conference matchup as part of the Hawai'i-Alaska Challenge in the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium at the Patty Center.
The Vulcans took down the Seawolves by set scores of 28-26, 19-25, 25-23 and 25-21.
"It's always tough when you play this quick — we had six days of practice before going on the road, but despite those challenges, everybody stepped up and played really well," Vulcans head coach Chris Leonard said. "For the returning players last year, we played a lot of tight matches so I think they were comfortable to step in. It's a great way to start the season but it's the first two of a long 28-match season."
It was a battle from the start with both teams playing to seven ties past the 20-point mark of Set 1. With the score knotted at 26, setter Emerson Reinke nailed a dump attack before Isabella Hadaller and Raelee Samio put the roof up for the block to close out the win.
Set 2 saw the Seawolves flush out a 19-19 tie by scoring the final six points to even the match.
Set 3 featured more dramatics as Hawai'i Hilo nursed a 24-20 lead before UAA rallied for three straight points to creep in, but Kamryn Childs slammed down the final point to put an end to that.
The Vulcans closed out the match by maintaining a steady-but-narrow lead throughout the final set before Hadaller finished it with her 19th kill of the evening.
"We have a much more balanced attack and our blocking has significantly improved. That's been a point of emphasis for us in practice," Leonard said. "We are bigger and more physical at the net but our backcourt has been really phenomenal. We've won a lot of long rallies both yesterday and today."
Hawai'i Hilo improved to 2-0 as Alaska Anchorage fell to an 0-2 record.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sophomore Isabella Hadaller led the hitting with 19 kills (.450 hitting percentage) to go along with four block assists and six digs. Eight of those kills came in the opening set with six in the final set, including the match-sealing point.
- Taylor Tullo was close behind with 17 kills while adding an ace and 13 digs.
- Junior transfer Raelee Samio added nine kills (.438) including crucial back-to-back 23rd and 24th points in Set 3.
- Chase Koepke provided five block assists and a solo up front.
- Emerson Reinke tallied 44 assists and had one kill on the evening, helping the Vulcans pull away from a 26-all score in the opening set.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo closes out the Hawai'i-Alaska Challenge with a doubleheader rematch Saturday against both Alaska (0-2) and No. 14 Alaska Anchorage (0-2).
"Tomorrow's going to be a grind. They're both really good programs and I expect they'll come out ready to play," Leonard said.
The Vulcans will then have four matches on O'ahu Sept. 1-2 before hosting their home opener Sept. 16 against HPU to start the Pacifc West Conference season.
