HILO, Hawai'i – The Vulcans had a triumphant return home in extending their win streak to six games after taking down Azusa Pacific in five sets (25-16, 24-26, 20-25, 25-14, 15-7) Thursday evening in Pacific West Conference action at the Vulcan Gymnasium.
"We had a good game plan coming in and our team did a really nice job executing. We knew there was some areas we could score some points and we worked hard in practice to prepare for them," Vulcans head coach Chris Leonard said. "Our right side attackers, Raelee Samio and Chase Koepke combined for 25 kills, which gave us a balanced attack and made us tougher to defend. Samara Cruz found her rhythm and really turned it on."
Samara Cruz totaled 19 kills with seven of them coming in the deciding set.
"It was just the connection with the girls, mainly our setters," Cruz said. "They put the work in and put the ball exactly where I needed it to and just really instilled confidence."
Thursday night marked the first victory for the Vulcans in the last five tries against the Cougars and also moved Hawai'i Hilo up a spot to No. 3 in the PacWest Conference regular season standings.
"Momentum is good, but the danger is being complacent," Leonard said. "My challenge to the team is to continue to get better. We've had a nice little run here and we're starting to play like the team we're capable of being. We have some tough matches coming up and if we want to win those, we need to get better. Some matches will be easier than others, but there's no easy matches this year."
BY THE NUMBERS
UP NEXT
Hawai'i Hilo moved to 6-1 in the PacWest (11-6 overall) as Azusa Pacific moved to a 6-2 conference record (10-5 overall).
The Vulcans continue with two more home matches in the coming days: Saturday, Oct. 12 against Biola and then Monday, Oct. 14 against HPU. Hawai'i Hilo will hop to O'ahu to take on Chaminade (Oct. 19) and HPU (Oct. 20) before returning for a four-game home slate against Concordia (Oct. 24), Point Loma (Oct. 26), Jessup (Oct. 30) and Fresno Pacific (Nov. 2).
ALOHA KIA
Aloha KIA Hilo was Thursday night's game day sponsor, helping to send one lucky fan home with a new YETI Tundra cooler.
Aloha KIA Hilo is a well-established car dealership located on Kanoelehua Avenue. Since 1997, they have been providing a wide range of services including the sale of new KIA vehicles and used cars. They are known for their customer-focused approach, offering high-quality service, financing options and a full-service KIA repair center.
Visit AlohaKIAHilo.com for more information.
