Box Score HILO, HI (September 18, 2014) – The Hawai'i Pacific Volleyball Team (2-5, 0-1) lost 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 18-25, 27-25) to Hawai'i Hilo (2-2, 1-0) on the Big Island to open PacWest play on Thursday.

The Sharks stumbled out of the gate, falling in the opening set. With the score 13-12, the Vulcans scored seven consecutive points to take a commanding 20-12 lead. The second set followed a similar path with HPU leading 16-15 and six straight points going to the home team to take control at 21-16.

HPU roared to life in the third set, dominating UHH. The Sharks controlled from the outset with a 7-1 lead. HPU was never challenged in the frame thanks in part to an outstanding .371 hitting percentage in the set.

The fourth set was hotly contested throughout. HPU trailed 18-16, but after a timeout by Coach Daryl Kapis, the Sharks came alive and rattled off the next six points to earn a 22-18 lead. However, Hilo ended up retying the score at 24 and 25 before securing the win.  

Kasey Thompson led the team with 16 kills, Elizabeth Culpepper (14), Pomai Recca (12), and Haley Doerfler (10) also registered double-figures.  Marie Fujii had a game-high 36 assists, Tenika Wentworth added 16 in two sets of action. Recca and Amanda Moriarty shared honors for most digs in the match with 22. Kara Wong also contributed 15 digs.

Some of HPU's problems were self inflicted. The Sharks committed 51 errors overall, including 36 hitting errors as opposed to only 14 for UHH.  

The Sharks open the home schedule against BYU-Hawai'i on Saturday at 6:00 pm at St. Andrew's Priory.