HONOLULU — Senior star Pomai Recca seemed to save her one of her best for last as she led Hawai'i Pacific University to a 3-2 PacWest win over cross-town rival Chaminade Friday night at home in the James Carter Gym at St. Andrew's Priory.
 
The Sharks (17-12, 13-7) fought through their second five-set match of the day to beat Chaminade (16-13, 10-10) 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 23-25, 15-13. HPU clinched a share of third place in the PacWest with the win. HPU is a game up in the win column over Dominican and Dixie State who both finish their seasons on Saturday.
 
Recca, the Sharks lone senior from Waimanalo, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama, was clearly the star on her final night on the floor at St. Andrews. She led the match with 24 kills and recorded her 20th double-double of the season with 16 digs. It marked her 10th 20-kill match this sesason.
 
Freshman outside hitter Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico, also double-doubled for HPU with 13 kills and 10 digs, while hitting .256 for the match. Freshman Alison McCollum of LaCanada, Calif./Flintridge Sacred Hearts, added 10 kills, while junior Lea Felton of Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis chipped in four blocks with eight kills.
 
"I'm so proud of the way this team played together tonight," said HPU coach Jenic Tumaneng. "This team has accomplished a lot of things this year."
 
"Pomai had a night that just exemplifies the kind of season she's having. I'm proud of the team supporting her the way they did. It's an awesome good feeling to go out as high as we could and finish on a good note."
 
The Sharks and Silverswords played close, but it looked like HPU would sweep the match.
 
The teams exchanged the lead twice in the first set, held a four-point lead before allowing a Silversword 4-0 run to knot the set at 17-all.  HPU extended the lead to 24-21 but Chaminade added another point before a kill from McCollum to win it 25-22.
 
The second set was even closer, with six lead changes and nine ties. The Sharks again had built up a 23-20 lead, when CUH ran off three straight point to tie at 23-all. But a kill from Recca followed by a Sword attack error put HPU up 2-0 with the 25-23 set win.
 
The third set saw a tremendous comeback by HPU after Chaminade had built an 11-6 lead, and extended it to a 22-15 advantage. HPU made a 7-2 run at the Swords to pull within one at 24-22. But following a CUH timeout, the Swords got a kill from Cassie Rushlow to extend the match with a 25-22 win.
 
The fourth set had 11 ties, but only one lead change. HPU held a 15-12 lead when the Swords went on 7-0 run to take the lead and never give it up. The Sharks came back to tie the set at 21-all, and after trading scores got back to trailing by one at 24-23 following a kill by Recca. But an attack error threw the set to CUH 25-23 and to a deciding fifth set.
 
HPU used an early 3-0 run to grab the lead for the final time, then worked it to a 12-9 advantage. Chaminade exchanged point with the Sharks closing it to 14-13 before Escobar rifled a shot to the floor to take the win 15-13 and end the regular season on a high note.
 
The Sharks are hoping for some help this weekend as the regular season comes to a close across the nation and NCAA Tournament bids come out on Monday afternoon at 2:30 HST. HPU is hoping to get a second berth to the tournament from the PacWest with their third place finish. If Dominican falls to league champion Corcordia (who isn't eligible for postseason play in their transition to Division II) and Point Loma beat Dixie State, the Sharks would be alone in third behind NCAA-bound second place California Baptist. HPU split two matches with the Lancers this season.