Coach Tino Reyes didn’t have the stats in front of him, and he didn’t need them. ADVERTISING Coach Tino Reyes didn’t have the stats in front of him, and he didn’t need them. It’s passing and serving, stupid. “We won
Coach Tino Reyes didn’t have the stats in front of him, and he didn’t need them.
It’s passing and serving, stupid.
“We won that battle again,” Reyes said Saturday night after the University of Hawaii at Hilo swept Chaminade.
In the 91-minute volleyball match, the Vulcans’ second consecutive home victory to start Pacific West Conference play, the primary beneficiary of better ball-control was Marley Strand-Nicolaisen. The sophomore posted 15 kills and reclaimed the role of No. 1 hitter — by a smidgen.
The former Ka’u High standout didn’t start Thursday and watched as Callie Aberle got the majority of swings, but Reyes noted Strand-Nicolaisen came on late in the fourth set to help secure a victory against Hawaii Pacific.
“Her numbers were good in a limited amount of time,” Reyes said. “If you take the overall body of work, Marley is still ahead of everyone else.”
UHH (3-2) turned the tables on a Silverswords team that it lost to two weeks ago, and this time around neither were sharp offensively.
Strand-Nicolaisen made four errors on 41 attempts with three aces, while Aberle had four errors on 40 swings with seven kills and two aces. Each posted 11 digs.
Stacey Witt (21 assists) continued to get the bulk of the time at setter, which meant less work for middle blocker Kyndra Trevino-Scott (six kills).
“We’re not setting the middle as much, but with Stacey that’s to be expected,” Reyes said. “Kyndra is being a trooper and the good thing is we’re winning.”
The Silverswords (7-5, 0-2) were hurt by eight service errors. Hilo graduate Waihilo Chartrand posted a match-high 19 digs to go along with a pair of aces.
Reyes said the Vulcans earned another round of quality marks for the passing grades his staff keeps.
“We can concentrate and focus for longer periods of time,” Reyes said.
That came in handy late in the match, when the Silverswords’ Suncica Bakic tied Game 3 at 22-22 with an ace. But she followed with a service error, and Kahea Vento-Rowe’s ace prompted match point.
After a kill by Madalene Barrett, Aberle and Shelby Harguess denied Cassie Rushlow her 12th kill with a block, sending the Vulcans off on a six-match road trip with momentum. And something to prove, Reyes said.
The Vulcans didn’t win their second conference game last season until Oct. 26, and their next test is Friday in Laie, Oahu, against BYU-Hawaii (5-3, 2-0), the 2013 Division II national runner-up.
“Good teams play good on the road,” said Reyes, whose young squad won only one road match last season. “BYU-Hawaii is light years ahead of us in terms of experience.”
But he added, the Vulcans can compete if — what else? — “We pass well.”
Golf: Kyeton Littel (71) and Dalen Yamauchi (72) led the Vulcans to a fifth-place finish Saturday at the season-opening St. Martin’s Invitational in Olympia, Wash.
Littel and Yamauchi tied for 14th at 2-over 215 as the Vulcans (867) finished 29 strokes behind first-place Simon Fraser in the 15-team field.
Nicholas Matsushima posted UHH’s best round of the day with a 70, tying for 18th at 5-over.
“That’s encouraging,” coach Earl Tamiya said. “Hopefully, he can carry that on to the next tournament.”
The Vulcans tee off at the Western Washington Invitational
Also for the Vulcans, James Coon (73) finished tied for 38th at 10-over, Connor Graves (76) was at 13-over in a tie for 44th and David Tottori (72) tied for 47th at 14-over.
Western Washington’s Anthony Allen and British Columbia’s Evan Holmes claimed medalist honors at 6-under.
Cross country: Anna Mikkelsen placed eighth in the 5-kilometer run Saturday at the Brigham Young University-Hawaii Invitational.
The Vulcans came in fourth. Joining Mikkelsen (19 minutes, 50 seconds) were Jordan Concannon (19th, 21:16), Nina Kapuni (26th, 22:22), Shelby Tanaka (27th, 22:23), Kaylee Rapoza (29th, 22:48), Megan Washburn (30th, 22:51) and June Garrett (33rd, 24:09).
