The 50th career victory for UH-Hilo coach Chris Leonard included many of the attributes he cherished about those that preceded it.
• Resiliency.
The Vulcans bounced back from one of their worst performances of the season with one of their best efforts in a sweep Wednesday night against Point Loma in San Diego.
• Balance.
All-PacWest standout Bria Beale was only her team’s fourth-leading hitter in the 25-20, 25-12, 25-17 victory. Beale’s seven kills tied her season low, but it was smooth sailing.
• Energy.
“We got our hands on a ton of balls,” Leonard said as the Vuls (13-3, 10-2 PacWest) remained in second place in the conference. His team didn’t allow an ace in serve-receive.
• Strategy.
Kamilla Marinas neared a career-high with 12 kills.
“We executed our game plan very well,” Leonard said. “We knew that they were going to key on some things on the outside, and that it might open it up for us to score on the right side.”
Of course, Marinas still had to execute, hitting. 400.
“Kamilla had an outstanding match at opposite,” Leonard said.
• Efficiency.
The Vuls hit .346, with middle Ashton Jessee delivering nine kills on just 16 swings, and Samara Cruz also had nine kills. Jessee had three blocks
• Dominance.
UHH’s eighth sweep represented just the second time the Sea Lions (12-8, 8-4) were swept this season, and Game 2 was their third-worst of the campaign. They were outhit 14-6. With a win, Point Loma could have tied UHH in the tight standings among the six PacWest haves (four from Southern California, two from Hawaii). Instead, the Sea Lions are tied for fifth with Concordia – which swept UHH on Monday – and have to quickly regroup ahead of Thursday’s match against third-place Chaminade (10-3).
“We had a strange sense of timidity in that first set,” Point Loma coach Jonathan Scott said in a school release. “It got contagious really quickly. The crazy thing was we still played good ball in that first set but there were just a few weird ones that we let go and then you have to hand it to (UHH).”
Take it all into account, and Leonard is 50-13 in two-plus seasons, including a developmental year last spring because of the pandemic.
He’ll go for win No. 51 on Friday as UHH travels back to the Los Angeles area to take on fourth-place Biola (9-3). UHH won the teams’ first meeting, a five-setter Oct. 6 in Hilo.
The Vuls won’t see first place Azusa (8-1) on this trip after the Cougars had to postpone three matches this week because of COVID-19 protocols. UHH still has home matches remaining with three of the PacWest haves: Azusa, Point Loma and Chaminade.
