UH-Hilo’s volleyball team opened the season with a scheduling oddity that saw it play its first 10 matches on the road.
Now comes the payoff.
Six games, all at home, with fans in the stands, amid a must-win Pacific West Conference playoff atmosphere.
“I think at this point all of our matches are important,” coach Chris Leonard said. “There are a whole bunch of teams bunched in the standings at pretty similar records. I think at this point every win counts. I think the thing that is helpful is that everybody has beat everybody. Nobody has stood out above the pack.
“The fact that we’re all bunched together, something has got to give eventually.”
Perhaps as soon as 7 p.m. Thursday, when the Vulcans (13-4, 10-3 PacWest) take on Academy of Art (7-14, 4-9) as fans make their 2021 debut at UHH gym.
“Were excited about that opportunity,” Leonard said.
Not that he’s counting.
“Playing in front our fans for the first time in 700 days or something like that,” he said. “It adds to the excitement and the experience for our players.”
The first official NCAA West Region rankings were released Wednesday, and though the Vulcans were left off the list, they’ll have a chance to climb. A pair of upcoming opponents, Chaminade (Nov. 19) and Azusa Pacific (Nov. 13) were ranked sixth and ninth, respectively. The Vuls already beat the Silverswords on the road, and they split the season series with Biola, ranked 10th. Biola (10-3) rattled off sweeps of Chaminade (12-3) and UHH last week at home and have won five in a row. In first, Azusa (10-1) has won six in a row as the Cougars get set to head to the islands next week.
The Vuls swept the Urban Knights in late September in Oakland, Calif., in a match in which senior opposite hitter Alexandria Parisian pounded 10 kills on just 20 swings, providing her usual complement to all-league outside hitter Bria Beale. Parisian has missed six matches since suffering a leg injury, and Leonard said she remains unavailable. In Parisian’s absence, Kamilla Marinas has reached double-digit kills three times.
“She’s done a really nice job, and with that, that provided a defensive opportunity for (Madelyn) Blandford, a freshman from Kealakehe,” Leonard said. “She’s played some nice defense for us.
“It’s given us an opportunities to look at a couple of different things. … Injuries are part of the game and we’ve always had a next-women up philosophy.”
Also, UHH announced that key men’s and women’s home soccer matches against Hawaii Pacific have been moved from Sunday to Nov. 11 because of COVID-19 protocols.
With wins in its final two matches, the Vulcan women can secure their first trip to the NCAA D-II tournament and at least a share of the PacWest title. UHH was ranked seventh Wednesday in the West Region rankings.
On the men’s side, HPU is contention for the PacWest’s automatic postseason berth. The Sharks are two points ahead of Biola and Point Loma, though each of those two teams has two games in hand on the Sharks.
On the men’s side, HPU resides in first place, two ppints