Of all the statistics churned out during UH-Hilo’s volleyball match at Menlo College on Wednesday, the most important number might have been present before the contest.
The NAIA Oaks were playing their 12th match, while the Vulcans were playing just their second.
Despite early leads in each set, UH-Hilo couldn’t catch up, and the Day 2 of the Gene Krieger regime ended in opposite fashion than the first. The Vulcans fell 25-21, 25-21, 25-17, hitting just .053 in Atherton, Calif.
UH-Hilo (1-1) may be behind others in matches played, but it will quickly try to change that Thursday as it transitions to the West Region Showcase and matches with Cal State Monterey Bay (3-1) and Alaksa (4-1) in San Francisco.
The Vulcans didn’t have a standout hitter Wednesday beyond junior middle blocker Ashton Jessee, who posted six kills on .333 hitting, adding four blocks. Junior middle Katrina Johnson added four kills on 10 attempts, but UH-Hilo’s prime options at outside hitter didn’t provide similar production. Siera Green had four kills, but hit .000, while Lucee Fitzgerald had one kill on 13 attempts.
Green had three aces. Libero Mina Grant added 23 digs and setters Basia Sauni (12 assists) and Sha Rae Nui (11) shared duties.
Emily Sunada needed just 18 swings to post 11 kills, and Maggie McDonald also compiled 11 for Menlo (9-3), which hit .176.
On Tuesday, the Vulcans swept Holy Names.
“It was good to get on the court in a real match.” Krieger said in a release. “We are still playing catch-up since everyone else opened last weekend. We have so many new players and a new system obviously, so each match is a step forward for us.”
The process continues with four matches in three days at the showcase.
