The UH-Hilo volleyball team has proven capable of beating the best in the PacWest, taking down conference leader Cal Baptist in four sets a few days ago.
On Wednesday, the Vulcans rode that momentum to defeat Chaminade 24-26, 25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 16-14 at UHH Gym before 234 fans, going 4 of 5 during a five-match homestand.
Marley Strand-Nicolaisen slammed 22 kills, including six in the fifth set, and hit .288 to spark the Vulcans (9-6, 7-5 PacWest), who had a .198 attack percentage. Kyndra Trevino-Scott added 15 kills on a .333 clip.
Keani Passi blasted 24 kills and hit .250 for the Silverswords (14-6, 7-5), who had a .269 attack percentage.
Strand-Nicolaisen’s sixth kill of Game 5 gave UHH a 15-14 lead, and a Chaminade hitting error closed the match.
The Vuls hit the road, and play four conference bottom dwellers, starting with Fresno Pacific, a team they beat earlier, on Saturday.
Cal Baptist is still the favorite to claim the PacWest championship. The Lancers don’t play anyone threatening, except for second-place Dixie State on Nov. 4 at St. George, Utah.
The Storm will be in a dogfight to retain their runner-up spot. They still have third-place Azusa Pacific, fifth-place Concordia, Cal Baptist, fourth-place BYU-Hawaii and UHH on their schedule.
Maybe UHH coach Tino Reyes was correct when he said after a three-set loss to Azusa Pacific, the lone blemish on the homestand, that there “isn’t a team head and shoulders above everyone else.”
In the 26-24 first set, Strand-Nicolaisen’s seven kills on a .400 hitting clip couldn’t erase her team’s four serving miscues, the last that handed the Silverswords a 23-21 lead.
For those who enjoy the Rainbow Wahine, there was Passi, a transfer from UH. In 2012, she led College of Southern Idaho to the national junior college championship. She was the AVCA Junior College Player of the Year.
Passi is listed at 5 feet 11, but looks two inches shorter. No matter, her jumping ability vastly increases her vertical hitting range. She blasted four kills and hit .667 in the first game, including set point on an entertaining high-flying slam.
The first set couldn’t have been more fun for the fans because Chaminade hit .400 with only one error and UHH .279 with four errors. That’s because the setters 5-foot-2 Natashya Enos and Skyler Curry and Vul Elizabeth Nizzoli didn’t telegraph their sets, found holes and spread the ball.
In the 25-21 second set, the Vuls capitalized on the wobbly passing of Chaminade libero Brenda Walker, who struggled in serve-receive and the hitting percentage fell off a cliff. The Silverswords hit .132; the Vuls just .143.
Walker had a costly ball-handling error, a rarity for a libero, who’s supposed to be the second-best ball-handler behind the setter. Vul libero Mina Grant had zero ball-handling errors through two games.
Strand-Nicolaisen had three aces, including set point — a sinker right in front of Walker, who had seven digs in the game, but not enough clean passes in serve-receive.
In the 25-18 third set, the Vuls bolted to a 6-0 lead. The Silverswords tied it 10-10. Then the visitors ripped off a nine-point run to grab a 24-14 cushion.
Passi clobbered nine kills in the set while Strand-Nicolaisen had none. Chaminade hit .370 while UHH had a .159 hitting percentage.
In the 25-20 fourth set, the Vuls jumped to leads of 11-3 and 23-17 and held on, thanks to a crafty set by Sienna Davis, who made a one-hand dish to Strand-Nicolaisen and the 5-11 junior smoked a kill.Then Mariya Heidenrich forced Game 5 with an ace.