HILO, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball grabbed its seventh consecutive sweep with a 3-0 win over HPU (25-10, 25-17, 25-23) on Friday afternoon in Pacific West Conference play at the Vulcan Gymnasium.
Hawai'i Hilo extended its streak of consecutive sets won to 21 after holding HPU to a .029 hitting percentage and outkilling the Sharks, 43-20, while outdigging them at a 64-45 margin — a Vulcans' season-high total for three-set matches (ranked No. 4 among PacWest-only contests).
Alohi Garcia led UHH with 12 kills and added 10 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Logan Blutreich hit .562 on 10 kills — moving her PacWest-play season percentage of .385 to the top of the conference rankings.
With the win, Hawai'i Hilo improved to 9-2 in PacWest play and is tied with Concordia for second place in the conference standings. UHH now hits the road for a three-game trip to California before returning home at the end of the month to host No. 23 Concordia and No. 19 Point Loma.
GAME NOTES
- Set 1: Hawai'i Hilo held HPU to a -.200 hitting percentage.
- Set 2: Garcia had six of her 12 match kills in the set.
- Set 3: The set was tied 12 times. Trailing 12-13, Hawai'i Hilo scored five straight points to lead 17-13 and went up by as many as four before HPU managed to score three in a row to tie it at 23. Garcia and Kaliko Kealoha scored the final two points on kills. Blutreich had six of her 10 kills in the set.
- Total Kills: Hawai'i Hilo 43, HPU 20
- Total Digs: Hawai'i Hilo 64, HPU 45
- Total Aces: Hawai'i Hilo 5, HPU 1
- 'Anolani Santos totaled 37 assists and 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. The 37 assists are tied for the second-most in a three-set PacWest match this season, behind her own conference high of 41 against Westmont on Oct. 12.
- LC Nakagawa's 21 digs are tied for the second-most in a three-set PacWest match this season.
- Garcia surpassed 500 career digs as a Vulcan.
- All nine of the Vulcans' conference wins have come in straight sets — the most in the PacWest.
- Hawai'i Hilo: 17-5 Overall (9-2 PacWest)
- Nickname: Vulcans
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 3
- Current Conference Standing: No. T2
- AVCA-Taraflex Top 25 Poll: Receiving Votes
- HPU: 2-15 Overall (1-10 PacWest)
- Nickname: Sharks
- Honolulu, Hawai'i (O'ahu)
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 8
- Current Conference Standing: No. 10
- Next Matchup: Nov. 7 in Honolulu, Hawai'i (O'ahu)
- The match was originally scheduled for Sept. 27 but was postponed due to Hurricane Nolo.
UP NEXT
- Tuesday, Oct. 20 (4 PM / 7 PM PT) at Westmont (Santa Barbara, California)
- Thursday, Oct. 22 (NOON / 3 PM PT) at Jessup (Rocklin, California)
- Friday, Oct. 23 (3 PM / 6 PM PT) at Dominican (San Rafael, California)
- Wednesday, Oct. 28 (6 PM) vs No. 23 Concordia (Vulcan Gymnasium)
VULCAN CHALLENGE
Hawai'i Hilo Athletics has launched its annual Vulcan Challenge, a month-long fundraising campaign running from Sept. 21 through Oct. 23 to support scholarships, travel, training and other essential resources for the Vulcans' 12 NCAA Division II teams. To support, visit HiloAthletics.com/VC.
PACWEST HAWAI'I CHALLENGE
Hawai'i Hilo moved to four points in the volleyball portion of the 2026-27 PacWest Hawai'i Challenge with the win. The year-long multi-sport leaderboard tracks head-to-head results (men's soccer, women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, softball, baseball) and conference event results (women's cross country, women's tennis, men's golf) in equally sponsored sports between Hawai'i's three NCAA Division II schools (Chaminade and HPU).
The Vulcans captured the 2025-26 competition for a third consecutive year. Full breakdown available at HiloAthletics.com/PWCHI.
AMONG THE BEST
Hawai'i Hilo was listed among others receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association-Taraflex Division II Top 25 Poll released on Oct. 12, totaling 11 points.
PACWEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The top four teams in the conference standings will qualify for the 2026 PacWest Championships, hosted by Vanguard on Nov. 13-14 in Costa Mesa, California. The Vulcans made an appearance in last year's PacWest Championships semifinal round. Hawai'i Hilo was voted No. 3 earlier in this year's conference preseason coaches poll.
