Hoke sets new digs record as Vulcans close out ART U on senior night

On the final play of the night, senior libero Tani Hoke became UH-Hilo Women’s Volleyball’s new all-time career digs leader as the Vulcans flipped the script on a six-point deficit to climb back and seal a 3-1 victory (23-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-23) over Academy of Art Thursday evening in Pacific West Conference play at the Vulcan Gymnasium.

Before fellow senior Samara Cruz put down her team-leading 13th kill for the final point of the match, Hoke dug up an opposing attack for her 15th of the match, moving into the No. 1 spot in the program record books with 1,565 career digs.

“To break the record at home in the last game of her fourth season — it made for a special night,” Vulcans fifth-year head coach Chris Leonard said in a UH-Hilo press release. “She came in as a walk-on and was overlooked by a lot of teams. She put in the work, is a team leader and works hard every day in the gym.”

Coming into the contest, Hoke was ranked No. 3 in all-time digs and surpassed both Tanya Fuamatu (92-95) and Mina Grant (15-18).

UH-Hilo fell into a 1-0 hole after dropping the opening set that saw the Urban Knights put down five aces to the Vulcans’ none. ART U pulled away late with four consecutive scores. From there, UH-Hilo matched a season-high of 13 total aces, led by Madelyn Blandford and Kamryn Childs’ three apiece.

In the final set, the Urban Knights managed to rally to score 11 of 13 points midway through, but the Vulcans took the advantage with 10 of the last 14 points to complete the 12th victory on the season.

It was the last home volleyball match of 2023 and it was also Senior Night with departing Vulcans Imeleta Ale and Nikki Logan recognized and celebrated following the match. Ale finished with three kills and put up a career-high six total blocks.

“We’ll miss having both of them in the gym. I’m thankful to have had both of them as part of the Vulcan family the last four years,” Leonard said.

“Nikki has gone through a lot in her young life and has worked very hard just to get on the court. We saw some moments last year where she could be a very special player for us, and it’s unfortunate that she wasn’t healthy enough to play much this season,” Leonard continued. “Ime — we will miss her excitement and energy. She’s relatively quiet in our gym, most of the time, but is an absolute sweetheart. It was nice to see her make the most of the opportunities that she had this year.”

Hoke, Childs, Cruz, Taylor Tullo and Chloe Culanding are also listed as seniors but all have plans to return for another season with use of extra eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UH-Hilo and Academy of Art previously met Oct. 7 in California with the Vulcans victorious after four sets.

UH-Hilo moved to 12-14 overall (9-9 PacWest) while Academy of Art moved to a 3-14 conference record (4-20 overall).

The Vulcans will finish the regular season on O’ahu with matchups against Chaminade (Nov. 17) and HPU (Nov. 18).

UH-Hilo currently sits at No. 6 in the PacWest Conference standings.