University of Hawaii at Hilo coach Tino Reyes liked just about everything he saw except the finish. Two harmful service errors to be exact. ADVERTISING University of Hawaii at Hilo coach Tino Reyes liked just about everything he saw except
University of Hawaii at Hilo coach Tino Reyes liked just about everything he saw except the finish. Two harmful service errors, each as inexcusable as they were untimely.
Reyes is ready to pocket the effort and play he saw from the remainder of Saturday’s five-set loss against Fresno Pacific and use it again in future matches.
When Reyes is unhappy, he says so, but in this instance, he was proud, even after a pair of leads disappeared.
“The best we’ve played all season, ” he said of a 21-25, 28-26, 23-25, 25-22, 16-14 defeat that dropped the Vulcans to 1-4 on their road trip. “We just haven’t evolved enough to get past a couple of mistakes we made in the fifth set. If we play like this more often, we’ll like the result.”
He pointed out how earlier matches on the trip against Chaminade and Academy of Art could have gone differently if the Vulcans (4-6, 3-4 Pacific West Conference) had brought the fire they had against the Sunbirds (9-6, 3-3).
“We would even compete against BYU-Hawaii,” Reyes said. “I don’t know if we’d win, but we’d compete.”
Reyes said outside hitter Marley Strand-Nicolaisen missed Saturday’s match with an injury, and it was unclear if she’d be back in the lineup Monday when the Vulcans finish their trip against vulnerable Dominican (2-13, 0-7).
Middle blocker Kyndra Trevino-Scott (17 kills, four errors, 35 attempts) continued to find increased comfort with setter Stacey Witt (40 assists) on Saturday, and it was almost enough to help UHH pull out a victory despite hitting just .139.
“Kyndra is just a real nice volleyball player,” Reyes said.
UHH got also got productivity from middle blocker Shelby Harguess, who delivered 12 kills and five blocks.
But for those pesky mistakes.
Ahead 11-10 in the decisive set, Morgan Lees gave away a point with a service error, and Sienna Davis did the same to even the set at 13-13.
“We talk about that all the time,” Reyes said. “We don’t miss serves when we have a chance. If you’re going to play good volleyball, you don’t do it.”
Harguess’ kill offset Callie Aberle’s attack error, but the Sunbirds got consecutive kills to end the match.
The Sunbirds (9-6, 3-3) were paced by Morghan Williams’ 20 kills, including one that denied UHH set point in Game 2. Williams also loomed large in the fourth set, knocking down four kills as the Sunbirds broke away from a 19-19 tie.
“I like the way we competed,” Reyes said. “If we can play at this level, I think we can become a good team.”
The Vulcans clearly missed Strand-Nicolaisen at outside hitter. Aberle finished with 14 kills, but she made nine errors on 65 swings, while Lees needed 45 attempts to get seven kills.
Libero Kahea Vento-Rowe led the way with 27 digs.
The Vulcans are tied for eighth in the 13-team PacWest, but they have a chance to get back to .500 with a victory against the winless Penguins. They start an eight-match, 21-day homestand next Saturday against BYU-Hawaii.
