Box Score HONOLULU, HI (September 26, 2013) – It was shades of Michael Jordan's "flu game" from the 1997 NBA Finals. Hawai'i Pacific's standout middle hitter Haley Doerfler was ill and was doubtful as recently as lunch time. She played however, and boy did she make it count. Doerfler tallied 15 kills while hitting .500 to lead HPU (9-2, 3-0) over #4 BYU-Hawaii (7-1, 2-1) in five sets (26-24, 16-25, 18-25, 28-26, 15-13).  

In the fifth and decisive set, BYUH led 13-12 but a pair of hitting errors gave HPU an opportunity for the upset win. Kasey Thomson seized the moment with a hammer job kill that sent the Sea Warrior faithful streaming onto the court.

The night started off good for HPU as well with a close win in the first set. It wasn't easy; the first set featured 10 ties, but just two lead changes. The set was knotted at 24 before Thompson put HPU on top. Reigning PacWest Freshman of the Week, Pomai Recca, slammed the door shut to give HPU a 1-0 set lead.

The Seasiders are ranked fourth in the nation for a reason, and they showed it in the second set. After the set was tied at 12, BYUH got hot and ended up with a 23-14 lead on its way to tying the match.

It was another late set run by BYUH in the third set that fell the Sea Warriors. Tied at 17, BYUH went on a 7-0 run to take a 2-1 set lead.

Things looked bleak in the fourth set as BYUH jumped out to an 8-2 lead. Tough serving brought HPU back and it would tie the set at 10 on a block from Doerfler and Amanda Moriarty. The set would be retied at 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26. HPU just wouldn't quit. The Sea Warriors won the war of attrition as two BYUH hitting errors ended the set.  

"Kasey was one of the biggest reasons we came back in the fourth set. We have been working on her serving and when we needed it the most she performed beautifully," said HPU Head Coach Daryl Kapis.

Recca matched Doerfler's 15 kills as Thompson added 13 and Samantha Rummans had 10. Recca recorded another double-double with 11 digs.

"Haley played a great game in the middle as she was able to get us big kills when we needed them," said Kapis.

Chelsey Buyuan had a game-high 31 digs to lead the defense. Doerfler also made an impact at the net with four total blocks.

Hannah Schuett played facilitator and led the team with 28 assists as Marie Fujii had 17.

HPU now begins a five-game road trip beginning with UH Hilo on Saturday at 7:00 pm on the Big Island.