There were high points and building blocks set along the way, but in the end the UH-Hilo volleyball team’s season ended with a whimper.
There were high points and building blocks set along the way, but in the end the UH-Hilo volleyball team’s season ended with a whimper.
Or, more specifically, a helpless chuckle from coach Tino Reyes after a season-ending 25-5, 25-20, 25-21 loss to BYU-Hawaii on Saturday night in Laie, Oahu, that ensured a losing record.
“We were so bad in the first game,” Reyes said. “It was a mix and match of things we weren’t doing.”
Despite finishing the season on a four-match losing streak – the trip to Oahu also included a four-set loss Friday to Hawaii Pacific – the Vulcans (11-12, 9-11 Pacific West Conference) recorded their best season since 2011 and will say goodbye to only one senior in middle blocker Shelby Harguess.
Junior outside hitter Marley Strand-Nicolaisen tallied 10 kills against the Sea Warriors, finishing seventh in the PacWest with 3.77 kills per set. Harguess ended her college career with three kills and four blocks.
The Vulcans showed they could compete with the PacWest elite when they beat California Baptist Oct. 24 at home, but they also were overmatched at times on the road, including Saturday night when they were outhit 50-28 and outdug 77-49.
“BYU-Hawaii just ran all over us,” Reyes said.
The Vulcans finished 10th in the 14-team PacWest, one spot above where they were slotted in the preseason poll.