UH-Hilo probably didn’t see this one coming, but Hawaii Pacific came to town and stunned the Vulcans in four sets, getting lit up by one of the smallest players on the court.
Cameryn Collie, just 5 feet 8, found seams and pounded 19 kills to lead the Sharks’ 25-20, 25-19, 10-25, 25-19 victory over the Vulcans on Sunday at the UHH gym, starting the home team’s PacWest volleyball journey on a sour note with an 0-2 record.
The Vulcans (5-5) locked up Perla Escobar, an All-PacWest pick in 2017, to nine kills and a .027 hitting percentage.
But Collie hit .268 on 41 swings, middle Sierra Piester added eight kills and hit .500, and Nicole Ferris had eight kills and hit .294 for the Sharks (5-5, 1-1), who finished with a .196 hitting percentage but had more digs 57-46.
Bria Beale had nine kills and hit .103, and Alexandra Parisian had nine kills and hit .304 to lead UHH, which hit .200 and outblocked HPU 11-6.
One lopsided stat was kills. HPU had far more kills, 58-41, and played down the stretch much better.
In Game 1, Piester banged down a point off a free ball, and Collie followed with consecutive kills for a 24-18 lead.
The second set followed a familiar pattern. The Sharks went on a five-point run to seize a 24-18 lead.
HPU gift-wrapped the third set for the Vuls. The Sharks had 13 unforced errors and watched UHH reel off nine straight points, including seven on giveaway points, for a 13-4 cushion.
In the final set, HPU scored eight consecutive points for a 24-17 cushion. Piester smashed a kill on a slide-step attack for match point.
HPU isn’t exactly a volleyball powerhouse. The Sharks finished sixth in the PacWest last year and are better known for their women’s basketball program.
So, how did the Sharks beat the Vuls?
“Good question,” coach Jenic Tumaneng said. “It was an up and down match, and it was the timing of the how the points were scored. Our game plan was to take care of our side of the net, make them earn points and not give them points.”
HPU had more hitting errors, 29-15, but did have 17 more kills. But simple math says that’s just a three-point plus differential. That’s a shoulder shrug emoji.
The third-year coach pointed to his little Shark.
“She’s athletic and what I like about her is she remains confident in her skills,” he said, sending a killer shark emoji.
That’s a message to all local players who stand 5-8 and think college volleyball is too big of a dream. Escobar is just an inch taller. Collie and Escobar play like giants and eat like killer sharks.
The loss to HPU was a gut punch, and the five-set loss to Chaminade on Friday was a kick in the shins.
Tied at 11-11 in the fifth set, the Silverswords scored the last four points for a 21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 15-11 win.
Again, the Vulcans shut down the opposition’s best player. Emma Tecklenburg, an All-PacWest pick in 2018, had just 10 kills and a .075 attack rate.
Yes, the Vulcans feel they got disrespected when the other coaches picked them to finish fifth in the PacWest. (Chaminade was second and HPU seventh.)
But it’s a long season, and UHH will rematch against the Silverswords and Shark again on the road. There’s a lot of time to serve a cold dish of revenge.
Lined up side by side, the Vuls are much bigger and more athletic than the Sharks. They hit harder and jump higher. But the smallest kid on the court taught the Vuls a valuable lesson in front of the whole schoolyard.
On Friday, Academy of Art beat Concordia in four sets. The Urban Knights are, by far, the worst team in the conference. They finished 1-29 last year.
“You’ve got to show up,” Tumaneng said. “You’ve got to show up for every match. That’s my thing.”
UHH coach Chris Leonard isn’t going to do wholesale lineup changes. He knows the Vuls just need to tweak a few things, tighten the block, handle the ball better and follow that time-worn phrase: execute better.
“I still firmly believe we can compete with anybody in the conference,” he said. “We have to execute a lot better.”