The UH-Hilo volleyball team doesn’t hit hard, except for Marley Strand-Nicolaisen, but hit safe and smart, and that was as good a game plan as any against Hawaii Pacific.
The Vuls brought out the brooms and swept the error-prone Sharks 25-22, 25-22, 25-18 in a PacWest showdown on Wednesday night at UHH Gym.
UHH senior Marley Strand-Nicolaisen slammed 13 kills on 45 swings with only three errors for a .222 hitting percentage. Sierra Green and Kyndra Trevino-Scott added seven kills each for the Vuls (6-5, 1-0 PacWest), who had a .197 hitting clip with just 13 errors.
Perla Escobar had 10 kills and Pomai Recca added nine for the Sharks (5-6, 1-1), who hit .127 and committed 22 hitting miscue and won both matches against UHH last year.
Across the board, the Sharks were taller, hit harder and jumped higher than the Vuls (except for Strand-Nicolaisen), but UHH played with much better team chemistry and had smooth ball flow from passing to setting to hitting.
In all three sets, the Vuls had a higher hitting average, fewer errors, and, probably most shocking, finished with more blocks, 9-5. HPU’s two middle blockers were 6 feet 2 and 6-1, and their right-side hitters were also 6-2 and 6-1.
Katrina Johnson is UHH’s tallest starter at 6-2, but the sophomore hitter isn’t a big part of the offense. But she did have two blocks.
Middle blocker Armani Moultrie, a 5-11 freshman, led the roofing job with 5 1/2 stuffs.
In the 25-22 first set, middle blocker Trevino-Scott carried the Vuls with four kills while the Sharks struggled with their ball-control, shanking passes on serve-receive and running through three different setters.
The lack of rhythm was a reason for HPU’s .167 hitting percentage with eight errors. Senior setter Sienna Davis balanced UHH’s offense much better, giving Trevino-Scott eight swings and outside hitter Strand-Nicolaisen, who had three kills, 10 attempts.
The Vuls hit .270 and posted just three hitting errors, not beating themselves and often hitting safe and finding an open floor in back-and-forth transition plays.
In the 25-22 second game, UHH reeled off 12 consecutive points to seize a 13-3 lead with Strand-Nicolaisen producing four points on a block and three kills, including two on over-passes.
The Vuls were effective enough with a low-hitting average, drilling balls at .146 clip, a poor percentage, but made just four errors.
That was top-shelf stats compared to the Sharks, whose hitting went into the tank. They misfired for a .085 hitting percentage and committed nine hitting errors, too many free points to the undersized Vuls.
Strand-Nicolaisen had four kills in the second set but showed why she’s the lead horse, despite standing just 5 feet 11. HPU tried to stick their tallest blockers, 6-2 middle Lea Felton and 6-2 hitter Kayla Demari, on her.
But even with the smallest seam, Strand-Nicolaisen soared and knocked a rocket through the tall duo’s block for a 14-7 lead. On the next play, the Vul senior displayed her jumping ability and ripped another bullet from the back row.
Green, who entered the match with a .203 hitting percentage, struggled against HPU’s athletic block, but she had nice production late in the second set, putting down a kill and getting a stuff for game point.
Through two sets, Green had four kills on 13 swings for a .154 average while Strand-Nicolaisen, to no one’s surprise, led the charge with seven kills on 30 attacks with only one error for a .200 hitting clip.
UHH’s defense neutralized both Recca (eight kills on a .121 average) and Escobar (eight kills on a .150 average) through two games. The senior and freshman are HPU’s top guns, but they diminished their production with too many errors, five and four, respectively.
In the third set, Strand-Nicolaisen had the highlight play of the night when she smoked a ball from behind the 10-foot line through a triple block for a 19-14 lead.
Later, Moultrie ripped an overpass for a 22-16 lead. The Vuls had four kills on HPU overpasses; the Sharks capitalized on just one UHH overpass.
Next week, the Vuls get a good measure of themselves when they take a four-match road trip, facing the two teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament in PacWest defending champion Dixie State and Point Loma, though the latter graduated most of its starters.
