UHH volleyball: Vulcans take on powerhouse BYUH

The UH-Hilo volleyball team opens its league slate against the Pacific West Conference gold standard, and coach Tino Reyes says BYU-Hawaii hasn’t lost any of its shine despite its record and the program’s impending extinction.

The Sea Warriors (2-6) visit Hilo for Saturday’s 7 p.m. contest coming off four consecutive losses at the GNAC/PacWest Crossover Tournament in Washington.

“That’s a tough draw against tough teams,” Reyes said. “They are still the champs until someone beats them.”

BYU-Hawaii is looking to add to its streak of PacWest championships (five) and postseason appearances (six) in its penultimate season. In 2014, the school announced that it would phase out athletics by 2016.

“Any time you hear about schools losing programs, that bad news,” he said. “Even if they beat us like a drum.”

Reyes may miss playing BYU-Hawaii, but he likely won’t miss having to defend outside hitter Shih Ting Chen, who last year became the first player in conference history to be named the PacWest Player of the Year during all four years of her career.

The Seasiders do return setter Ying Chun Chen. Fresh off a redshirt season, the senior selected as the preseason league setter of the year.

The Vulcans will try to show off their improved firepower, though the Vulcans’ hitting could be put to test if junior Marley Strand-Nicolaisen is unable to play. Reyes said Strand-Nicolaisen was dealing with an achilles issue.

Entering league play at 2-1, middle blockers Kyndra Trevino-Scott (.457) and Shelby Harguess (.421) are tops in the conference in hitting percentage, and outside hitter Morgan Lees has give the Vulcans a lift with 22 kills.

“Morgan is definitely much improved from last year,” Reyes said. “She is hitting with a lot more strength and confidence than last season.”