HONOLULU – The Hawai'i Pacific University opened the 2017 volleyball season on a sour note, as the Sharks were swept 3-0 by Seattle Pacific Friday night in the first match of the Hawai'i Classic in James Castle Gymnasium at St. Andrew's Priory.
 
The Sharks (0-1) fell to the Falcons (1-0) 30-28, 26-24 and 25-20.
 
"The match definitely gave us an opportunity to see what we needed to work on," said HPU head coach Jenic Tumaneng. "I saw a lot of good things as well. We played tough and even with bad hitting we had chances to win the first two sets."
 
As a team, the Sharks hit .129 for the match, while Seattle Pacific hit .221.
 
HPU was led by junior Kayla Demari of Dana Point, Calif./JSerra Catholic, who collected nine kills with two blocks. Sophomore Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico, added eight kills.
 
The Falcons were paced by Olivia Turner with 13 kills and Hanna Lautenbach with 12 kills. Nicole Tchabanov added four blocks in the match.
 
The Sharks are back in action with two matches on Saturday as they face No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney at 11 a.m., and Colorado-Colorado Springs at 7 p.m. Both matches are at Castle Gym. A third match on Saturday is at 4 p.m. when Seattle Pacific meets Nebraska-Kearney.