by HONOLULU, Oahu—A balanced attack and strong play at the net was just enough to send UH Hilo to a tight 3-1 victory over West Virginia State on Saturday night at the Shark Tank. The 25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-14 match was the final action for both teams at the Hawai`i Challenge.
The Vulcans leave Oahu with a 3-1 mark, while West Virginia State heads home at 0-4.
UH Hilo had four players with double-figure kill numbers and they had 28 total blocks. Alexandria Parisian (Chippewa/Cree) led the way with 11 kills and seven block assists, followed closely by Amber Tai (10 kills), Emily Wade (10 kills, five block assists), and Ashton Jessee who had a monster game with 10 kills, four service aces and nine block assists.
Jenna Dufresne led the Yellow Jackets with 13 kills.
The two teams traded blows in the first set, with UHH moving out to a 16-11 lead but allowing the Yellow Jackets to rally back to take a 18-17 margin. Tied at 20-20, the Vulcans scored five of the next seven points to win the set, 25-22. Wade had four kills in the set and Jessee had three service aces.
In the second set, the Vulcans led the entire way until the ‘Jackets fought back to take the lead, 21-20. WVSU still lead 23-22, but UHH scored the final three points of the set to go up 2-0 (25-23). The Vulcans had 16 block assists through the two sets and also had seven aces.
West Virginia State held the lead for most of the third set, but not by more than two points in the back half of the game. Tied at 21-21, unlike the other two sets, it was the Yellow Jackets who pulled away to grab the set and stay alive (25-23).
The Vulcans changed the trend of close sets in the fourth, rolling out to a 10-4 lead and pushing their margin out to 17-7. They would hold a 22-9 lead before the final points were in the books at 25-14.
The Vulcans will now prep for the D2 Showcase at Cal Poly Pomona, Sept. 13-14 at Cal Poly Pomona. The tournament features teams that all finished in the top two or three of their conference last year, including No. 2 nationally ranked Western Washington and No. 20 Cal Poly Pomona.
