Shih Ting Chen’s clinic didn’t last long. She barely broke a sweat and needed just a little more than an hour to dissect the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
After it was over, Vulcans coach Tino Reyes could only laugh as he went on and on praising BYU-Hawaii’s star outside hitter.
Chen dominated with 24 kills Friday night and the Seasiders swept UH-Hilo 25-19, 25-17, 25-14 in a 70-minute volleyball match in Laie, Oahu.
“It got progressively worse,” Reyes said after the Vulcans (3-3, 2-1) suffered their first Pacific West Conference defeat. “We didn’t do the things we needed to do.”
They certainly couldn’t find an answer for the 5-foot-11 Chen, who dazzled Reyes with her all-around game.
The three-time PacWest player of the year made only two errors on 47 attempts for a .468 attack percentage.
“Are you kidding me?” Reyes said. “She’s not the player of the year for nothing. I’m glad we only have to face her one more time.”
He said he didn’t even want to see the match on tape, calling it a throwaway game. But if he does make the Vulcans watch it — perhaps before the teams play Oct. 11 in Hilo — he said he’d tell his outside hitters to try and emulate Chen.
“She makes you defend the whole court. And when you defend the court, she’ll come up with a shot off the block or she’ll hit down the line,” Reyes said.
The Seasiders (6-3, 3-0), who were the runner-up at the NCAA Division II tournament last season, hit .240. Kalistina Takau notched nine kills as BYU-Hawaii came up with 79 digs while the Vulcans had only 52.
While the Vulcans struggled in passing and serving (one ace, five errors), Reyes called Chen a great ball-handler. She added 14 digs during her third double-double of the season.
“In my opinion, she could play for any (college) team in the country at libero,” he said.
Sophomore outside hitter Marley Strand-Nicolaisen led the Vulcans with 10 kills, but she made seven errors as UH-Hilo hit .088.
Kyndra Trevino-Scott added six kills at middle blocker, but outside hitter Callie Aberle couldn’t locate the form that helped her fuel the Vulcans’ modest two-match winning streak. The senior managed just two kills on 31 attempts.
“This was a team loss,” Reyes said. “Everybody wasn’t good, from the coaching staff to the ball boys.”
The Vulcans play Chaminade at a 7 p.m. Saturday. The teams have already split two meetings this season, with UH-Hilo winning in a sweep at home Sept. 20.
“We told them to forget about this and concentrate on (Saturday),” Reyes said.