FRESNO, Calif. – Hawai'i Pacific University extended their winning streak to four straight as HPU swept Fresno Pacific 3-0 in PacWest Conference play on Thursday night at the FPU Special Events Center.
 
The Sharks (10-13, 9-8) moved above .500 in the PacWest with the victory over the Sunbirds (5-20, 4-12) 25-23, 25-22, 25-22.
 
The Sharks rolled up an attack percentage of .260 with 10.0 team blocks, as the Sunbirds hit .172 with 2.0 team blocks.
 
HPU was again paced by the play of sophomore Cameryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge with 12 kills and just missed a double-double with nine digs. Sophomore Abigail Wilmington of Vancouver, Wash./Columbia River posted eight kills and while freshman Nicole Ferris of Woodstock, Ga./Etowah had seven with a .368 hitting percentage. Senior Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial had six kills with a .400 hitting percentage and posted a match-best eight blocks.
 
Fresno Pacific was led by Carley Bock with 14 kills, as Madison Pierce added 11 kills and a block.
 
The Sharks had to fight hard with the Sunbirds for the sweep, as the match featured the teams tied 27 times with 12 lead changes in the match.
 
HPU opened the match on an 8-2 run thanks to solid serving from junior Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico, and Pyle. HPU extended the lead to 12-5 when the Sunbirds rallied with a 7-1 to pull within a point.  HPU held on for a few more points before FPU went on a 3-0 run to take a 19-17 lead. HPU trailed 22-20 before using a timeout to start its run. A Sunbird attack error gave the Sharks the serve and senior Mehea Pescaia of Kailua, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama to a 24-22 lead. FPU pulled back to 24-23 before Pyle gave the Sharks the win with a kill to end the first 25-23.
 
The second set was even tighter as the squads had 10 ties and five lead changes. HPU was down by three points midway through the set before a 3-0 run tied it at 14 and the teams swapped points to a Ferris kill that made it 21-all. The Sharks got a solo block from Pyle and a service ace from senior Kennedy Poligratis of Honolulu/ Kamehameha-Kapalama to go up 23-21. The Sunbirds got a point before a kill from Pyle and an FPU error put the set away 25-23 for HPU.
 
The final set featured 11 ties and four lead swaps. Going down the stretch the set tied at 11, 13, 14, 15, and 22 when HPU called a timeout to regroup. Pyle got a kill to take a 23-22 advantage, followed by a kill from Collie and a Sunbird attack error that put the Sharks in the winner's circle with a 25-22 set victory and the match triumph.
 
HPU closes its northern California five-match road trip on Saturday when they visit Academy of Art. The match at San Francisco's Kezar Pavilion is set for noon HST (3 p.m. PDT).