BELMONT, Calif. — Hawai'i Pacific University ran into a buzz saw on Thursday night as Notre Dame de Namur took the Sharks 3-1 in PacWest Conference action at Gleason Gym.
 
The Sharks (7-11, 5-5) returned to .500 in PacWest play as the Argos (11-7, 6-4) came away with a 25-18, 26-28, 25-15, 25-19 win.
 
"Hand it to Notre Dame de Namur, they were ready to play tonight," said head coach Jenic Tumaneng. "We didn't hit well for the match, especially in the last two sets."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
 
The Sharks hit just .122 for the match, but recorded 8.0 team blocks. The homestanding Argonauts hit .262 with 7.0 team blocks.
 
Junior middle hitter Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial led the way for the Sharks, just missing a season-high with 11 kills, hitting .429 and three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Jade Gillespie of Los Gatos, Calif./Valley Christian added a season-best 10 kills.  Senior middle hitter Lea Felton of Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis, led HPU with five blocks. Junior setter Mahea Pescaia of Kailua, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama recorded 25 assists.
 
The Argos got 25 kills and a .323 hitting percentage from Bianca Alvarez, while Cheyenne Te'o added 11 kills and Allison Anderson 10.
 
The tone of the match was set early by the Sharks, as HPU built an early 10-4 lead in the opening set only to have NDNU rally to pull within 16-13 midway through. But that was when the Argos went on a 6-0 run to claim a 19-16 lead. The Sharks scored two of the next three points to pull within two at 20-18 on a Kayla Demari kill. The Argo then followed with a 5-0 run to put the first set away.
 
The Sharks grabbed the second set, but once again let a lead slip away. HPU opened with a 6-1 run and extended the momentum out to an 11-4 advantage when the Argos made their first run. But the Sharks nipped it and rallied with another 4-0 run for a 17-9 lead on a shared block by Felton and Demari. The teams swapped points until HPU held a 20-14 lead. The Argos got three straight and HPU posted two more to lead 22-17.
 
However, a Sharks service error gave NDNU some life and the Argos posted a 5-0 run for a 22-all tie. The Sharks got kills from Perla Escobar and Sierra Piester to lead 24-22 and serve set point. Notre Dame de Namur fought back with a 3-0 run to hold a 25-24 lead. HPU again won two points to serve set point at 26-25 before the Argos tied it again at 26.
 
That's when HPU used a Demari kill and an attack error by NDNU to win the second set 28-26.
 
The Argonauts took over in the third set, hitting .417 for the set on the way to a 25-15 win. The Sharks never held the lead in the set while hitting .032 themselves.
 
The fourth set was close early, but a quick 3-0 run by the Argos put them ahead. HPU battled back pulling within two at 18-16 on a 3-0 run. Following an NDNU timeout, the Argos went on a 5-0 run for a 23-16 lead. NDNU then withstood a brief HPU rally to win 25-19 on a kill by Maggie Billingsley.
 
HPU will return from their four-match mainland trip, but will still have one more road game on the swing next Friday, Oct. 20. That's when the Sharks visit McCabe Gymnasium to meet cross-town rival Chaminade in a 7 p.m. match.