HILO, Hawai'i – Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball battled through a 32-30 marathon first-set defeat and outlasted Alaska Anchorage in five sets (30-32, 25-13, 25-20, 21-25, 15-10) on Thursday evening at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium to open the season with Day 1 of the Hawai'i-Alaska Challenge.
Senior Alohi Garcia put down a career-high 29 kills and freshman setter 'Anolani Santos racked up 62 assists in her collegiate debut. LC Nakagawa chipped in four aces and tied for the team lead with 18 digs matched by Maiah Kalima. Hawai'i Hilo dominated at the service line tallying 10 aces to Alaska Anchorage's two.
After dropping the 32-30 opener, Hawai'i Hilo answered by winning the next two sets. Alaska Anchorage forced a decisive final frame, but the Vulcans closed it out, 15-10, to leave with the victory.
Lee Ivakina led Alaska Anchorage with 16 kills while Hannah Trotter had 33 assists.
GAME NOTES
- Santos' 62 assists ranks tied for No. 6 in a single game — Desiree Agader (2007 vs Chaminadee), Katie Swanson (2009 vs Rockhurst), Kendall Kott (2019 vs Notre Dame de Namur)
- Part of the Hawai'i-Alaska Challenge hosted by Hawai'i Hilo. Field also includes HPU, Chaminade, Alaska and Alaska Fairbanks.
- Chaminade defeated Alaska Anchorage, 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-19)
- No. 16 Alaska defeated HPU, 3-0 (25-16, 28-26, 25-14)
- Hawai'i Hilo: 1-0 Overall (0-0 PacWest)
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 3
- Alaska Anchorage: 0-2 Overall (0-0 Great Northwest Conference)
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 5
UP NEXT
- Friday, Aug. 21 (6 PM) vs No. 16 Alaska (Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium) – Hawai'i Alaska Challenge
- Saturday, Aug. 22 (1 PM) vs TBD (Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium) – Hawai'i Alaska Challenge
- Friday, Aug. 28 (7 AM) vs Menlo (Fresno, California) – Hawai'i Alaska Challenge
- Friday, Aug. 28 (1 PM) vs Stanislaus State (Fresno, California) – FPU Sunbird Classic
- Saturday, Aug. 29 (9 AM) vs UC Merced (Fresno, California) – FPU Sunbird Classic
PACWEST PRESEASON POLL
Hawai'i Hilo was voted No. 3 in the 2026 PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll. The Vulcans finished the 2025 regular season tied at No. 3 in the conference standings. The four-team 2026 PacWest Championships postseason tournament will be hosted by Vanguard University on Nov. 13-14 in Costa Mesa, California.
PURCHASE TICKETS
Season and individual tickets for the Vulcans' 13 home matches at Vulcan Gymnasium are available for purchase at HiloAthletics.com/tickets. Season tickets are $150 for Preferred Seats ($100 for seniors 65+ and middle/high school students) and $100 for General Seats ($50 for seniors 65+ and middle/high school students).
BUY LIVESTREAM PACKAGE
Video livestreaming will be available for all home events this season through the PacWest Network, powered by Hudl TV. More information is available at HiloAthletics.com/livestream. Single-game passes for volleyball are offered at $15 and a season-package (13 matches) price of $120.
