FRESNO, California – Hawai'i Hilo Women's Volleyball went 2-0 on the first day of the Fresno Pacific Sunbird Classic after outlasting Menlo in five sets (24-26, 25-18, 25-19, 24-26, 15-13) and topping Stanislaus State in four sets (25-9, 26-28, 25-17, 25-13) on Friday at the Special Events Center.
In the morning matchup, the Vulcans pulled ahead, 14-10, in the deciding set against Menlo but the Oaks managed to run off three consecutive points to draw within striking distance. However, Sajal Glunz put the match away with a career-high 15th kill to end the contest.
Hawai'i Hilo posted a 3-1 win over Stanislaus State in the nightcap hitting .302 as a team to the Warriors' .101 — including .400 in the opening set and bookending with .636 in Set 4.
Chase Koepke finished the two-match day with 22 kills (13 and 9) without a single attacking error. 'Anolani Santos racked up 89 combined assists (45 and 44), Alohi Garcia totaled 30 kills (12 and 18) and Logan Blutreich had 23 kills (9 and 14) to go along with nine total blocks (4 and 5).
GAME NOTES
- MATCH 1: HAWAI'I HILO 3, MENLO 2
- Set 1: Hawai'i Hilo led, 17-9, before Menlo managed to rally to tie the score at 19. The Vulcans went back ahead, 24-21, but Menlo closed on a 5-0 run to take the opening set.
- Set 2: Menlo managed to rally to within three points at 21-18, but the Vulcans took four consecutive points to close out the set and prevent another comeback by the Oaks — landing the 25th point on a service ace by Olivia Woodley for her first career point.
- Set 4: Glunz had seven kills in the set. Garcia landed kills on the Vulcans' last four points, the last of which tied the score at 24-all, but Menlo managed to take back-to-back points to end the set.
- Kaliko Kealoha was in on five of the Vulcans' eight total blocks including three in the deciding fifth set — two alongside Koepke and the other with Blutreich.
- Total Kills: Hawai'i Hilo 65, Menlo 44
- MATCH 2: HAWAI'I HILO 3, STANISLAUS STATE 1
- Set 1: Hawai'i Hilo opened the match on a 7-0 run and never let Stanislaus State get closer than five points the rest of the way.
- Set 2: Tied 11 times but the Warriors managed to take nine of the last 12 points — including three straight — to pull away for the 28-26 win.
- Set 4: Vulcans opened the scoring, 10-1, and posted .636 hitting as a team building up to as large of a lead as 23-7 before closing out the victory.
- Total Kills: Hawai'i Hilo 57, Stanislaus State 34
- First serve was delayed nearly three hours from the originally scheduled start time.
- Sunbird Classic field: Fresno Pacific (CCAA), Hawai'i Hilo (PacWest), Jessup (PacWest), Menlo (CCAA), Stanislaus State (CCAA), UC Merced (CCAA), Western Oregon (GNAC).
- Hawai'i Hilo: 4-1 Overall (0-0 PacWest)
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 3
- Menlo: 0-1 Overall (0-0 CCAA)
- Atherton, California
- California Collegiate Athletic Association
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. T13
- Stanislaus State: 1-1 Overall (0-0 CCAA)
- Turlock, California
- California Collegiate Athletic Association
- Conference Preseason Poll: No. 5
UP NEXT
- Saturday, Aug. 29 (9 AM) vs UC Merced (Fresno, California) – Fresno Pacific Sunbird Classic
- Saturday, Aug. 29 (3 PM) vs No. 11 Fresno Pacific (Fresno, California) – Fresno Pacific Sunbird Classic
- Friday, Sept. 4 (10 AM) vs Seattle Pacific (Honolulu, Hawai'i) – Hawai'i Challenge
- Friday, Sept. 4 (4 PM) vs Emmanuel (Honolulu, Hawai'i) – Hawai'i Challenge
- Saturday, Sept. 5 (10 AM) vs Saint Martin's (Honolulu, Hawai'i) – Hawai'i Challenge
- Saturday, Sept. 5 (3 PM) vs Western Colorado (Honolulu, Hawai'i) – Hawai'i Challenge
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 (12 matches) price of $120 (now $90).
