SAN RAFAEL, California – Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball defeated Dominican in four sets (25-17, 25-15, 24-26, 25-16) on Friday evening in Pacific West Conference play at Conlan Center to close a three-match road trip.
Dominican managed to make a late-game rally by scoring five straight points facing aloha ball in Set 3 to prevent being swept. Vulcans closed the match out by hitting .375 against .034 in the final set of action.
Alohi Garcia led Hawai'i Hilo with 18 kills and a career-high 23 digs, recording the 13th double-double of the season. Logan Blutreich added 16 kills and hit .406, while Chase Koepke recorded 14 kills (.407), eight of them in the fourth set.
'Anolani Santos recorded 44 assists. LC Nakagawa (19), Elly Stokely (17, career high) and Maiah Kalima (11) reached double figures in digs.
Hawai'i Hilo is tied for third place in the conference standings and is one of six times still vying for four postseason tournament berths. The Vulcans return home to host Concordia (Oct. 28) and Point Loma (Oct. 31) before closing the regular season on O'ahu at Chaminade (5-8) and HPU (3-11).
GAME NOTES
- Set 1: UHH led from the first point to the last and closed on a 3-0 run.
- Set 2: UHH led by as many as 11 points and held DUC to .122 hitting. Sajal Glunz recorded five kills without an error (.625).
- Set 3: Nine ties and six lead changes. UHH led 24-21 but DUC managed to score the final five points to extend the match.
- Set 4: UHH broke open a 12-11 game with a 5-0 run before extending the lead to as many as nine points. Koepke scored eight of her 14 match kills with just one error (.778) in the closing set. UHH hit .375 to DUC's .034.
- Total Kills: Hawai'i Hilo 64, Dominican 40
- Total Service Aces: Hawai'i Hilo 2, Dominican 1
- Total Blocks: Hawai'i Hilo 7, Dominican 14
- Total Digs: Hawai'i Hilo 85, Dominican 69
- Garcia's 18 kills rank No. 4 in a PacWest 4-Set Match.
- Santos' 44 assists rank No. 4 in a PacWest 4-Set Match.
- Previous Matchup (Oct. 1, 2026): W 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-15) in Hilo
- Hawai'i Hilo: 19-6 Overall (11-3 PacWest)
- Nickname: Vulcans
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 3
- Current Conference Standing: No. T3
- AVCA-Taraflex Top 25 Poll (Oct. 19): Receiving Votes
- NPI Rank (Oct. 18): No. 40 (No. 8 West Region)
- Dominican: 4-17 Overall (1-12 PacWest)
- Nickname: Penguins
- San Rafael, California
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 10
- Current Conference Standing: No. 10
- NPI Rank (Oct. 18): No. 218 (No. 28 West Region)
UP NEXT
- Wednesday, Oct. 28 (6 PM) vs Concordia (Vulcan Gymnasium)
- Saturday, Oct. 31 (6 PM) vs No. 18 Point Loma (Vulcan Gymnasium)
- Friday, Nov. 6 (6 PM) at Chaminade (Honolulu, Hawai'i)
- Saturday, Nov. 7 (3 PM) at HPU (Honolulu, Hawai'i)
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.
- Clinched (0/4): None
- In Contention (6): Biola (11-3), Chaminade (5-8), Concordia (11-2), Hawai'i Hilo (11-3), Point Loma (10-2), Westmont (8-6)
- Eliminated (4): Dominican (1-12), HPU (3-11), Jessup (3-11), Vanguard (4-9)
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).
