HILO, Hawai'i – Another five-set match, and another thriller. This time, however, the Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball team fell just short in dramatic fashion, falling by an extra point in the deciding set to Point Loma in Pacific West Conference play in front of a rowdy crowd at the Vulcan Gymnasium. Set scores were 25-20, 13-25, 19-25, 26-24 and 14-16.
Hawai'i Hilo pushed the Sea Lions to the limit after trailing three points through the middle portion of Set 5. Facing a 10-7 score, the Vulcans rattled off four straight points with kills by Isabella Hadaller and Chase Koepke. Both teams traded points until a final tie at 14-14 before PLNU managed to pull away for the final two scores.
Other than in the serving column, PLNU held the advantage in most stat categories and came away with dominating wins in Set 2 and Set 3. Still, the Vulcans played tough on defense and gutted out a win in Set 4 to force the ultimate fifth set.
The Vulcans came out strong in the opening set, outhitting the Sea Lions along with a four-ace and two-block advantage. Point Loma came firing back as Hawai'i Hilo hit negative .128 in Set 2 before the Sea Lions posted a .379 hitting percentage in Set 3.
Set 4 saw the Vulcans maintain a healthy lead throughout, but after holding a 24-21 advantage, the Sea Lions stiffened up to cause three attacking errors (two blocks) for a tied 24-24 score. The Vulcans pulled through to force a service and attack error of their own.
STATS SHEET
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 5-6 overall (2-1 PacWest) while Point Loma moved to 8-4 (5-0 PacWest).
The Vulcans will continue their first home stand and be right back in action Sunday afternoon to take on Azusa Pacific starting at 3 p.m.
Hawai'i Hilo will then head to Northern California for a three-game stretch against Fresno Pacific (Oct. 4), Dominican (Oct. 5) and Academy of Art (Oct. 7) before returning home Oct. 14 to host two-time defending champion Chaminade to start another four-game home stand.
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.
