UH-Hilo volleyball coach Chris Leonard didn’t need to say much Saturday after his players were extended to fifth set.
The Vulcans knew what to do, and it involved hitting the ball hard, hitting it precise and then getting ready to hop on a place after a successful road trip.
Bria Beale smoked four of her 20 kills in the decisive set and Emily Wade loomed large in the middle with 21 kills as the Vuls outlasted Notre Dame de Namur 24-26, 25-22, 25-19, 21-25 in Belmont, Calif, capping a 5-0 road trip.
“We just needed to settle down and clean some things up,” Leonard said.
Playing their fifth match in eight days, the Vulcans (10-5, 5-2 PacWest) dropped their first two sets of the trip, but they rebounded with power, hitting .305 with 11 kills in Game 5.
Amber Tai contributed a career-high 19 kills with 10 digs, putting down the final point to end a match that nearly lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes.
“Good teams find a way to win,” Leonard said. “It was really a gut check for us, and to pull through is something I’m really proud of.”
Wade also reached a career-high in kills on .487 hitting, and freshman setter Kendall Kott came through with 62 assists and 19 digs. Beale, who added 18 digs, also had a double-double.
“I’m pretty happy with all the different contributions,” Leonard said.
Samantha Shaffer led the Argonauts (2-11, 1-5) with 17 kills and Rowan Jack had 24 digs.
The Vulcans were in for a battle from the start. In the first set, with the score tied at 18-18, the Argo’s rolled off three straight points. NDNU still led at 24-21, but UHH rallied back to tie it at 24-24, before the home team put down back-to-back balls to take the set, 26-24.
The second set looked to be going Notre Dame de Namur’s way as well when they ran out to a 7-1 lead. But the Vulcans battled back to 18-18, and then took the set lead for good on kills by Beale and Wade, eventually evening things up at a set a piece.
The Vulcans scored four of the final five points to win the third set, but the Argonauts claimed the fourth set by breaking a 12-12 tie with three straight points and they would never trail again.
The Vulcans return home and open a seven-match stretch at their gym Thursday against Concordia.
Golf
The UHH women’s team made a 12-stroke improvement in the final round at the Saint Martin’s Invitational in Olympia, Wash., where the Vulcans finished fourth in the five-team field.
Taryn Taguma shot an 86 to lead UHH and was followed by Keely Kitamura (89), Kaelyn Uchida (90), Carli Shimokihara (91), and Kiri Oshiro (93). Uchida and Kitamura tied for 12th, Taguma tied for 16th, Chimokihara was 20th, and Oshiro tied for 23rd.
Hawaii Pacific’s Kaley Saludares, a 2018 Waiakea graduate, was fourth with an 88-77—165 total.
Northwest Nazarene’s Taylor Entenman was the medalist with a 78, 15 over total. Her team also took the title.
The Vulcans next play in the Concordia Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
Cross country
Olivia Jarvis was fourth, and UHH placed third in the four-team field at the Hawaii Pacific Sharks Invitational at Kahuku, Oahu.
Jarvis clocked 20:29, better than her season-opener of 21:53. Emma Heidelmeier was 21st in 22:38, Caitlin Kawaiaea was 22nd in 22:39, Sabina Boo-Rivera was 23rd in 22:50. Lily Gavagan (23:47) and Annaka Barragan (24:01) were UHH’s fifth and sixth finishers.
The Vuls next host their Hilo Invitational on Saturday at the Grand Naniloa golf course.
