HILO, Hawai'i – Vulcans fans went home happy Saturday evening as the Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball team took down the HPU Sharks in straight sets to open the Pacific West Conference season with a victory. Set scores were 25- 23, 25-21 and 26-24.
"Super important win for us just setting the tone for this upcoming season. Everybody knows what happened last season, it was a bit of a rough one, but it's really exciting with all these new pieces and you can see they're coming together well," senior Samara Cruz said. "One of our strengths as a team has been going these long five sets but it's just a really nice refreshing feeling to only have to go three and get it done that fast."
Despite the sweep, it was a tough battle down the stretch of each set as the Vulcans pulled through to flush out the wins. Sets 2 and 3 had 15 and 14 tied scores, respectively.
Shortly after a 13-13 score in the opening frame, the Vulcans put together six straight points after capitalizing on HPU errors to put down three consecutive kills from Cruz, Imani Lee and Emerson Reinke. Still, the Sharks scored eight of the last 11 points of the set but the Vulcans still closed out the win with a big block by Isabella Hadaller and Chase Koepke.
In the final set, Hawai'i Hilo battled back from a 17-20 deficit and even faced an HPU-set point at 23-24, but kills from Taylor Tullo and Kamryn Childs set up an aloha-ball ace by Tani Hoke.
"For sure, the grit of these girls — just like running off the court into the pads — like balls to the walls. It was awesome to see the hustle, effort and the heart," Cruz said. "I think that's come through from the last season. All that fight we had, it's just building and we want to accomplish a lot more this upcoming season."
WHOSE HOUSE?
It was the first opportunity of the season for Hawai'i Hilo fans to watch the home team play, and they were treated to a new-look Vulcan Gymnasium with fresh coats of paint and new wall and banner graphics.
"The team is extremely grateful to play in a home that looks and feels 'Vulcan Proud.' There is no question when you walk into the gym, whose house it is," Vulcans head coach Chris Leonard said.
Vulcan Booster Club president Keene Fujinaka, HPM Building Supply president and CEO Jason Fujimoto, Gilbert Aguinaldo and UH Hilo Art professor Michael Marshall were recognized prior to the match for their help and effort toward the gym redecoration.
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo improved to a 4-5 record (1-0 PacWest) while HPU moved to 0-6 (0-2 PacWest).
The Vulcans will continue their first home stand by welcoming Southern California schools Concordia University Irvine (Sept. 21), Point Loma (Sept. 23) and Azusa Pacific (Sept. 24).
Thursday's match will be Adopt-a-Beehive Night with the first 50 fans receiving fresh honey courtesy of the UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management. Additional gift baskets will be raffled to lucky fans.
ONLINE TICKETS
Single-game and season tickets are now available to be purchased online through Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans Athletics' recently launched online ticket platform in partnership with AudienceView Campus.
The 2023 slate will feature 10 total home matches at the Vulcan Gymnasium with a package price of $75 for adults and $40 for seniors (ages 65-plus) and middle/high school students.
Both can be accessed at HiloAthletics.com/tickets.
