It wasn’t a win that will raise many eyebrows, but it was one Chris Leonard could appreciate.
A quick, thorough, businesslike performance will do that for a volleyball coach.
Senior outside hitter Bria Beale led a host of UH-Hilo hot hitters Wednesday night, smacking 12 kills as the Vulcans swept Academy of Art 25-21, 25-15, 25-17 in Oakland, Calif.
“I was really proud of our team, because we probably had, or we did have our most efficient hitting match of the season,” Leonard said.
The Vulcans (6-2, 3-1 Pacific West Conference) hit a season-high .370, and limiting hitting errors was key in surviving the first set. UHH made just one miscue, offsetting 16 kills by the Urban Nights (4-9, 1-4), including eight off the hand of Isaura Santos. In the final two sets, Academy-Art combined for just 20 kills, hitting .154 for the match.
“Our block did a very nice job of taking care of their best hitters,” Leonard said.
Beale following the efficiency theme with just three errors on 25 swings (.360) and Alex Parisian (.450) notched just one error – as did middle blocker Ashton Jessee and Samara Cruz – in posting 10 kills. Jessee (.385) had six kills, and Cruz (.300) contributed seven.
Cruz is filling in for Nicole Schmitz, who didn’t make the trip – which continues Friday at Fresno Pacific – because of an injury. Cruz, Beale and Parisian finished with nine digs apiece. Beale and Sydney Gott had four blocks each.
“She’s done a nice job and had been really solid,” Leonard said of Cruz, “Hitting (.300), that’s a really nice percentage.”
On this night, he could have said that about a lot of players.
