NAMPA, Idaho — Hawai'i Pacific University won one and lost a close one in day two of the NCAA Division II West Region Showcase hosted by Northwest Nazarene on Friday.
 
The Sharks (2-5) swept Cal State LA (2-5) 25-18, 25-16, 25-23 to start the day. HPU followed with a heartbreaking five set loss to Simon Fraser (3-4) 25-18, 11-25, 30-28, 23-25, 13-15.
 
Against Cal State LA, Sharks sophomore outside hitter Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico posted an outstanding match by racking up 19 kills while hitting .586 in three sets. Freshman outside hitter Cameryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge, added six kills as HPU outhit the Golden Eagles .317 to .128.
 
The Sharks used strong starts in all three sets against Cal State LA to easily take the first two sets and held enough of a lead in the final set to withstand a Golden Eagle rally to hold on for the 25-23 win and the series sweep.
 
HPU had four hitters with double-digits kills against the only Canadian team in the NCAA in Simon Fraser. But the Sharks overall hitting of .156 helped spell doom for HPU in the five set loss.
 
Escobar and Collie led the Sharks with 15 kills, while junior middle hitter Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial added 12 kills with three blocks. Junior right-side hitter Kayla Demari of Dana Point, Calif./JSerra Catholic posted 10 kills.
 
The Clan hit .245 with 11.0 team blocks against the Sharks, led by Christine Howlett with 19 kills and a .425 hitting percentage, while Betsie de Beer added 14 kills and five blocks. Tessa May had nine kills and eight blocks in the contest.
 
The match turned in the fourth set, with the Sharks holding a 2-1 set advantage. HPU pushed out to a 20-16 lead in the fourth when the Clan went on a 6-0 run to give SFU a 22-20 lead. The Sharks countered and pulled back within one at 23-22. However, SFU took two of the next three points to even the match at 2-all.
 
In the final set, Simon Fraser posted a 5-0 run and 4-0 run to hold a lead that HPU could not overcome in a 15-12 win to take the match.
 
The Sharks close their action in the West Region Showcase on Saturday when they meet the host, Northwest Nazarene, at 6:30 a.m. HST (10:30 a.m. MDT) before returning home to open PacWest play next week.