Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
On Wednesday night, Morgan Lees came to the rescue against cellar dweller Holy Names, a few days after the UH-Hilo volleyball team’s offense couldn’t get started.
Lees pounded 15 kills as the Vulcans swept the Hawks 25-18, 25-18, 25-22 in a PacWest match at Oakland, Calif., keeping UHH’s faint postseason hopes alive.
“It was good for our confidence,” UHH coach Tino Reyes said. “Morgan Lees hit .394. No one else did anything spectacular. We learned some things and got the win.”
The Vuls (10-7, 8-6) are tied for sixth in the conference standings with Chaminade (15-7, 8-6), Concordia (13-11, 9-6), and Azusa Pacific (12-11, 8-6).
Earlier on Wednesday, Dixie State defeated Cal Baptist in four sets at home. The Storm (15-8, 12-3) have won eight straight while the Lancers (17-6, 10-3) have dropped three in a row.
BYU-Hawaii (12-10, 10-4) is second in the standings after a sweep over Dominican (6-15, 3-12).
Dixie State is first , followed by BYUH, Cal Baptist, Point Loma (16-8, 10-5), and those four six-loss teams, including the Vuls.
Also on Wednesday, Fresno Pacific beat Hawaii Pacific in four sets at home. The Sea Warriors (12-10, 7-7) are now tied with the Firebirds (9-12, 9-7).
On Monday, Fresno Pacific downed UHH in four sets. The Vuls struggled and had far fewer kills than the Firebirds, 64-42.
Two days later, it helped to play the worst team in the PacWest.
Marley Strand-Nicolaisen added 12 kills, but hit just .147 for the Vuls, who finished with a .127 average.
Kyndra Trevino-Scott served six of UHH’s 10 aces, and on the defensive end Mina Grant piled up 22 digs.
The Vuls continue their four-match road trip of playing the conference’s weaker schools.
Up next is Notre Dame de Namur (9-15, 5-10) on Thursday and Dominican on Saturday.
The Vuls return home and play two tough teams, Point Loma Nazarene (16-8, 10-5) on Nov. 12 and front-runner Dixie State on Nov. 14.