UH-Hilo got what it wanted: a showdown against Chaminade for a West regional volleyball berth.
On Friday night, the Vulcans beat Hawaii Pacific 25-21, 21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-8 while the Silverswords defeated Fresno Pacific 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 25-12 on Oahu.
UHH (21-6, 16-4 PacWest) was 11th in the latest West region rankings poll, which helps determine the eight-team playoff. Chaminade (22-5, 16-5) was seventh.
It’s more likely than not that the Saturday winner will advance to the West regional on Nov. 15 and the loser will stay home when the field is revealed on Sunday on ncaa.com.
HPU gave UHH a stiff challenge and came in hot. The Sharks lost to conference leader Azusa Pacific in five sets last Friday and previously had won six straight.
Chaminade also lost to the Cougars, No. 5 in the poll, in five sets. UHH fell to them in four.
Against HPU, the Vuls had more blocks (10-1) and better hitting (.305-.216).
Bria Beale had 17 kills and hit .326, and had lots of help from Ashton Jessee (14 kills, .500), Alexandria Parisian (nine kills, .241), and Armani Moultrie (eight kills, .429).
Jessee had four kills in the fifth set while Beale also added four kills, including match point.
UHH’s defense was solid. Mina Grant had 20 digs, and Teisa Tuioti added 14. Moultrie had three blocks while Jessee had two.
The Sharks (12-15, 11-10) were led by Cameron Collie, who had 23 kills but hit just .154.
The Vuls have won three in a row and need one more for their first postseason berth since 2011.
