SANTA BARBARA, California – Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball fell to Westmont in five sets (19-25, 26-24, 26-28, 25-20, 15-13) on Tuesday evening in Pacific West Conference play at Murchison Gymnasium.
It was the Vulcans' first loss since Sept. 19 (a five-set defeat at Biola) and the first time in seven matches they did not win in straight sets, ending a streak of seven consecutive sweeps and 22 consecutive sets won.
Just over one week after playing the Warriors at home on the Big Island, Hawai'i Hilo held a 2-1 lead over Westmont in the first of a three-match road trip heading down the final stretch of the regular season. Westmont managed to hit above .300 in each of its three set wins and posted percentages of .324 and .304 through the final two sets to sneak away with the victory.
The deciding fifth set was tied seven times with four lead changes. Hawai'i Hilo led, 11-9, but Westmont managed to take six of the next eight points for the win — Valerie Coward managed to score three of her team-leading 18 total kills through that final sprint.
Senior Alohi Garcia led Hawai'i Hilo with 21 kills and added 15 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. Freshman 'Anolani Santos totaled 57 assists, the most by any player in a PacWest match this season, and added 17 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
Chase Koepke hit .520 with 15 kills and Logan Blutreich added 13 kills on .346 hitting, as the pair combined for 28 kills and six errors on 51 attempts (.431) while the rest of the Vulcans hit .120.
Hawai'i Hilo (9-3 PacWest) remains in fourth in the conference standings. UHH now continues its California road trip with matches at Jessup (2-10) on Thursday and at Dominican (1-10) on Friday before returning home to host Concordia (10-2) and No. 18 Point Loma (9-2).
GAME NOTES
- Set 1: Hawai'i Hilo scored five in a row from a 12-9 lead to go up 17-9 and never let the lead drop below five points the rest of the way. It was the Vulcans' 22nd consecutive set won.
- Set 2: UHH matched a three-point deficit with three straight points to tie the score at 16-all. The score was tied at every point through 21-21 before Westmont managed to take three of the next four points for a 24-22 lead. Hawai'i Hilo pulled even at 24-24 with back-to-back kills from Blutreich and Kaliko Kealoha, but the Warriors squeaked away with the final two points. Kealoha had five of her 10 match kills in the set, forcing tied scores at 17, 19 and 24.
- Set 3: The score was tied from 22 through 26 before the Vulcans jumped ahead to take the 2-1 match lead with a 28-26 victory. Four of its final six points came off of Westmont errors. Garcia had seven of her 21 kills in the set.
- Set 4: Hawai'i Hilo cut a 21-16 deficit to 21-20 after four straight points, but Westmont managed to force a deciding fifth set by scoring the final four points — Coward managed to score three of those points with kills.
- Set 5: Hawai'i Hilo committed only two attack errors in the set. It was the Vulcans' fourth five-set match of the season, and they are now 2-2 in five-set matches.
- Total Kills: Hawai'i Hilo 67, Westmont 68
- Total Service Aces: Hawai'i Hilo 8, Westmont 4
- Total Blocks: Hawai'i Hilo 5, Westmont 10
- Entering the match, Hawai'i Hilo ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division II in opponent hitting percentage (.137). Westmont, which averages .191, hit .230 with 24 attack errors.
- Entering Tuesday, Santos was ranked No. 23 in Division II for total assists and was No. 25 in assists per set (10.05).
- LC Nakagawa recorded 13 digs to surpass 1,500 career digs (708 as a Vulcan).
- Koepke's .520 hitting percentage was the fourth-best in a five-set PacWest match this season.
- Maiah Kalima recorded a season-high 19 digs.
- Previous Matchup (Oct. 12): W 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-21)
- Hawai'i Hilo: 17-6 Overall (9-3 PacWest)
- Nickname: Vulcans
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 3
- Current Conference Standing: No. 4
- AVCA-Taraflex Top 25 Poll (Oct. 19): Receiving Votes
- NPI Rank (Oct. 18): No. 40 (No. 8 West Region)
- Westmont: 9-11 Overall (6-6 PacWest)
- Nickname: Warriors
- Santa Barbara, California
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 7
- Current Conference Standing: No. 5
- NPI Rank (Oct. 18): No. 121 (No. 16 West Region)
UP NEXT
- 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 Concordia (Vulcan Gymnasium)
- Saturday, Oct. 31 (6 PM) vs No. 18 Point Loma (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.
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. 19, totaling 16 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. Eliminated from Contention: Dominican (1-10), HPU (2-10), Jessup (2-10).
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.
NCAA POWER INDEX (NPI)
NCAA Division II has implemented the NCAA Power Index (NPI) as the official, objective metric for determining NCAA Championships postseason tournament berths. Outside of conference champions receiving Automatic Bids (AQs), all remaining at-large spots are awarded based on final NPI rankings, which evaluate winning percentage, strength of schedule and match location.
In the initial rollout of the ratings, Hawai'i Hilo came in at No. 40 nationally and No. 8 in the West Region. NCAA Selection Show will be Nov. 15 with the opening rounds of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships set for Nov. 19-22. Five at-large berths will be awarded alongside the AQs for the three champions from the conferences comprising the West Region — PacWest, California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).
