Western Washington swept the UH-Hilo volleyball team 26-24, 25-15, 25-23 in the NCAA West regional Thursday at San Bernardino, Calif., outblocking the Vulcans 13-5.
Bria Beale had 15 kills and hit .303, Emily Wade (.615) and Alexandra Parisian (negative .042) added eight kills each for the Vulcans (23-8), who hit .127.
Kaila Lizama had 11 digs and Beale had seven digs.
Gabby Gunterman had 13 kills and hit .300, Kayleigh Harper (.583) and Tess Biscup (.333) added seven kills each for the No. 4 Vikings (27-2), who hit .344.
“They are really good in every facet of the game, and especially effective at the net,” UHH coach Chris Leonard said. “We knew that coming in, we just didn’t execute the way we had hoped to.”
UHH had 25 hitting errors; WWU had just 11.
In the first set, the Vikings put down a kill and closed the set on Calley Heilborn’s ace.
The national runner-up jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set and never trailed. WWU hit .429 in the set.
In the third set, Beale tied it at 22-22, but kills by Gunterman and Bisup pushed the Vikings ahead 24-22. Beale had another kill before Biscup closed the match.
The No. 7 seed Vulcans finished with 23 wins, the most since 2009 (25-2). It was UHH’s first trip to the regional tournament since 2011. UHH will return a large majority of the squad in 2020, losing only four seniors, two of them starters in Lizama and Armani Moultrie (three kills, .091).
“I am really proud of this team and all we have accomplished,” Leonard added. “It was a great experience for all those players that we have returning next year and a great final send-off for our seniors. I was very happy with our effort, just not with the outcome.
“Coming from a spot where we were picked fifth in the PacWest preseason poll, this team has been relentless in getting better. We are scrappy, we don’t quit. We just made a few too many errors today against a good team.”
Beale, a first-team all-region selection, added, “We are a very fiesty team. This loss will light a fire in us for the off-season and I expect us to come back stronger than ever. We play every point like it is match point, and that’s how we will work in the off-season.”
