The UH-Hilo volleyball team could have spent all day watching video of Chaminade, expecting fastballs from the two most productive PacWest hitters in Emma Tecklenburg and Alana Handy.
But the Silverswords had a changeup in mind, relying on opposite Rachel Reedy, who lit up the Vulcans for 19 kills and hit .567 to spark a 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23 win on Saturday night at UHH gym.
Tecklenburg (3.6 kills per set) and Hardy (3.5 kps) — No. 1 and 2 in sets per game — lived up to their resumes. Tecklenburg had 11 kills, and Handy finished with 14 for the Silverswords (13-3, 7-3 PacWest), who hit .268.
Evelin Solyomvari had 15 kills and hit .220 but had little help. No one else had double-digit kills for the Vulcans (11-4, 7-2), who hit just .146 and saw their five-match winning streak end. Bria Beale added eight kills but hit .118.
UHH played without libero Mina Grant, out with a shoulder injury, and the serve-receive passing and back-row coverage took a dip. Kaila Lizama filled in and had 17 digs.
The Silverswords had better balance, more firepower, 66-40 kills, and covered the court better, 71-51 digs. UHH had more blocks, 11-5.5.
The Silverswords somehow stole the 25-20 first set, despite nine unforced errors and some serve-receive woes. They gave up three aces and an easy point when UHH’s Kiley Davis had a kill on an overpass.
The Silverswords had back-to-back blocks to grab a 21-19 lead and another to go up 24-20. Then middle Brooke Bell pounded game point.
In the 25-20 second set, it was all about scoring runs.
Chaminade scored eight straight to take a 22-11 cushion, capitalizing on UHH’s serve-receive issues.
Beale ended the drought with a kill, and it was UHH’s turn to make a run. The Vuls scored seven in a row to get within 22-18. But UHH gave Chaminade its last two points on a service error and hitting miscue on game point.
In the 25-23 third set, Solyomvari slammed eight kills on 12 attempts with two errors and hit .500.
Chaminade had 11 unforced errors and allowed two aces. UHH had 10 giveaway point but surrendered no aces and passed better in serve-receive to produce a 62 percent sideout rate, often stopping Silversword runs and starting its own.
Solyomvari and Beale had kills to finish off Game 3.
In the fourth set, Chaminade had a 62 percent sideout rate, and Handy was on fire. She ripped eight kills and hit .538.
Every time the Silverswords visit, there’s a boost in attendance because of coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke, the daughter of UHH and NAIA Hall of Famer Carla Carpenter-Kabalis. Now in her seventh year, Kabalis Hoke has had four straight winning seasons and looks to be on her way toward another one.
“I love coming to Hilo, “Kabalis Hoke said. “The UHH staff, our family and friends and even our alumni, Waihilo Chartrand (a Hilo high graduate), are so welcoming. It’s good to see the support we’re building on the Big Island as well.”
• Soccer
Men, Holy Names 1, UHH 0: The Hawks scored 20 minutes into the second half and held off the Vulcans, who had far more shots, 14-5 at Hayward, Calif.
Ramon Gutierrez scored for Holy Names (3-6-1, 2-1 PacWest), fourth in the standings.
UHH (2-7, 1-3) finished its road trip with a 1-1 record and is tied for second-to-last place.
The Vuls kept it close despite the absence of leading goal scorer Matt Wilkinson, who was suspended for the game. In a 1-0 win over last-place Academy of Art, Wilkinson, who has five scores, received his fifth yellow card of the season, which meant a suspension for the Holy Names game.
UHH’s Jorge Martinez and Robert George also had red cards against the Urban Knights and were suspended as well.
Women, UHH 3, Holy Names 1: The surging Vulcans won their fifth straight behind two goals from Lucy Maino and one from Brende Yoshizumi.
UHH (6-1-2, 3-0-1 PacWest) remained second in the standings while the Hawks (2-7, 0-3) are tied for last.
UHH goalie Bailey Cahill had three saves and has only allowed five goals in nine games, so far.
• Cross country
At the Hawaii Pacific Invitational, the Vulcans placed third in the four-team field, behind the host Sharks, Hawaii and ahead of Chaminade in the five-kilometer event.
Olivia Jarvis was the first to finish for the Vuls in fifth place in 20:03. Other UHH runners were Annaka Barragan (12th, 20:33), Makena Morris (18th, 21:13), Meghan Langbehn (19th, 21:28), Caitlin Kawaiaea (28th, 22:47), Lily Gavagan (30th, 24:53), and Kathy Perez (31st, 26:27).
• Golf
The UHH women’s team dropped from fifth to sixth in the final round of the St. Martin’s Invitational at Oympia, Wash., where Andi Igawa fell from eighth to 19th with a 30-over 83-91—174 total.
Other Vulcans were Keely Kitamura (tied 23rd, 88-88—176), Gabriella Esquibell (26th, 93-85—178), Carli Shimokihara (T29th, 92-90—182), Kasumi Goto (96-91—187), and Kaelyn Uchida (40th, 95-102—197).