HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific University came back from the brink of defeat to take a 3-2 victory over BYU-Hawaii in PacWest Conference action in James Castle Gym at St. Andrews Priory.
 
The Sharks (15-9, 11-4) went on a 9-1 run after trailomg 20-16 in the fourth set to rally past the Seasiders (6-18, 4-11) 25-16, 25-27, 22-25, 25-21, 15-10.
 
"It was a great match," said HPU coach Jenic Tumaneng. "Anytime the local teams play it seems to go five sets and is very entertaining."
 
 
Senior Pomai Recca, the 5-9 outside hitter from Waimanalo, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama paced the way for HPU with 16 kills, nine digs, three blocks and an ace. Freshman Alison McCollum of LaCanada, Calif./Flintridge Sacred Hearts posted 13 kills with a hitting percentage of .526 and four blocks. Freshman Perla Escobar also chipped in 13 kills and two blocks.
 
The Sharks outblocked the Seasiders 17 to 11 with junior Lea Felton of Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis chalking up 10 blocks to go with the six blocks of sophomore Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial.
 
BYUH was paced by the 14 kills of Leilani Adolpho and Sinamoni Tonga, to go with the six blocks by Sofia Tonga.
 
The match was tight from the start until the Sharks, leading 17-16 in the first, went on an 8-0 run to close the match. HPU scored to make it 18-16, then freshman Katlin Barkley of Manhattan Beach, Calif./Redondo Union came in to hold service for the next seven points.
 
Set two saw HPU lose a four-point early lead, then come back from a 23-19 deficit and fight off a set point to even the set at 24-all.  The Sharks fought off another set point with a kill by Felton to tie at 25-all, before the Seasiders scored on kills from Lacy Lange and Sinamoni Tonga to win 27-25.
 
The third set was another battle, with BYU-Hawaii holding a 16-15 lead when they snuck out to a 23-19 lead. HPU battled back to 24-22, but the Sharks hit into a block to end the set 25-22.
 
The fourth saw the Sharks down 15-10 before inching back to trail 15-13. Things looked bleak at 20-16, when Pyle and sophomore Kayla Demari of Dana Point, Calif./JSerra Catholic teamed for a block to give HPU back the serve at 20-17. Pyle stepped up to the service line and helped the Sharks to seven straight points, including two aces. After allowing a BYUH point, Felton's kill continued the momentum with the 25-21 set win.
 
The fifth set belonged to the Sharks who jumped out to a quick lead before the Seasiders closed the gap and tied the set at 9-all. But a BYUH service error started a 6-1 HPU run that was culminated by Recca's kill to win the match 15-10.
 
"We wanted to keep the pressure on BYUH in the fifth set," said Tumaneng. "And our experience with came through. I'm very pleased with the win."
 
The win closes a nine-match HPU homestand that saw the Sharks go 7-2. The Sharks, fourth in the PacWest race, open a three-match southern California swing next Friday at Azusa Pacific. First serve at the Felix Event Center in Azusa, Calif., is at 2 p.m. HST (4 p.m. PST).