HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific University got a 3-0 sweep over neighbor-island rival Hawai'i Hilo in PacWest Conference volleyball action Saturday night in James Castle Gym at St. Andrew's Priory.
 
The Sharks (4-6, 2-0) maintained the momentum in taking the Vulcans (3-5, 0-2) in the tight match 25-22, 26-24, 25-20.
 
"We came ready to play tonight and it showed," said head coach Jenic Tumaneng. "We played we with a sense of concentration and urgency. It's a great result."ks
 
The match was close throughout as the only four point separated the two teams until the end of the third set.
 
HPU hit .352 for the match, while recording 6.0 blocks. UHH hit .245 with 3.0 blocks.
 
The Sharks were paced by freshman outside hitter Cameryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge, who accumulated 12 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico posted 11 kills. Junior middle hitter Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial, tallied eight kills and a .700 hitting percentage with three blocks. Senior middle hitter Lea Felton of Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis also had three blocks.
 
The Vulcans were led by Siera Green and Lucee Fitzgerald with 13 kills apiece. Kiley Davis recorded three blocks.
 
HPU and UHH fought through the first set with until the Sharks won three straight points to grab a 21-17 advantage. The Vulcans won four of the next five points to pull back within one at 22-21. But kills from Abigail Wilmiington and Collie gave HPU a three-point lead, with Collie finishing off the match two plays later with a kill to give the Sharks a 25-22 win.
 
In the second set, HPU gradually opened a 21-17 advantage down the stretch, only to have the Vulcans go on a rally by winning seven of the next nine points to hold set point on HPU at 24-23. That's when the fortunes turned for the Sharks. UHH suffered a service error to knot the match at 24. HPU's Felton and Kayla Demari got a block to make it 25-24 and a Vulcan ball handling error gave HPU the win at 26-24.
 
In the final set, HPU overcame and early 3-0 deficit to tie the set at 13-all before launching a 5-0 run to take control. The Vulcans made a comeback to get within two at 18-16, but an Escobar kill along with a Kayley Mohr ace put the Sharks back in the driver's seat. Mohr's final kill ended the night by giving HPU the 25-20 win and sweep.
 
The match was the first for HPU in the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge, an all-sports competition between the Hawai'i schools.
 
The Sharks are idle until next Friday night, when they continue their six-match homestand by facing Dixie State at 7 p.m. in Castle Gym.