HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University overcame four match points in the deciding set to upend Hawai'i Hilo 3-2 in PacWest Conference action Saturday night at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (16-7, 12-3) toppled the Vulcans (17-6, 12-3) 16-25, 25-22, 25-17, 16-25, 18-16 to sweep the season series and snap a 12-match winning streak for UHH. HPU and UHH are now tied for third in the PacWest.
 
The Sharks overcame fifth set deficits and match points at 14-12, 14-13, 15-14, and 16-15 before scoring three straight points to win 18-16 on a service ace by sophomore Cara McClean of Beaverton, Ore./Southridge.
 
HPU hit .202 with six team blocks in the victory, while UH Hilo hit .263 with eight team blocks.
 
Senior Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico posted a double-double with 20 kills and 17 digs including the go-ahead point in the fifth set tiebreaker. Junior Cameryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge also collected a double-double with 16 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Kirah Boynton-Brown of Vancouver, Wash./Union hit .625 with six kills and led the Sharks with three blocks. Defensively, senior libero Amanda Acosta of Exeter, Calif./Extra Union racked up 21 digs with six assists and an ace.
 
PacWest kills leader Bria Beale racked up 25 kills with a .293 attack percentage, 13 digs, and three blocks, while Alexandria Parisian added 14 kills and Emily Wade posted 13 kills with four blocks.
 
One could tell it was going to be a great match as there were nine tied scores in the first set with no one getting an edge until 13-13. UH Hilo went on a 4-1 run before an HPU timeout, but the Sharks couldn't hold them off. At, 20-16, the Vulcans ran off five straight points for the 25-16 win.
 
HPU got in the groove in the second set and never allowed UH Hilo a lead. HPU started with a 4-2 run, and three consecutive attack errors by the Vulcans gave the Sharks an 8-3 lead. One kill from Beale was the only thing to interrupt another 6-1 run by HPU including an ace from Acosta. At 19-11, the Vulcans had a sputter of hope going on an 8-2 run to bring the game close at 21-19. Battling it out to 23-22, Escobar finished them off with a huge kill and an ace for the game point tying knotting the match with the 25-22 win.
 
The teams battled in the third before the Sharks, down 9-7, went on an 8-1 run with kills from Collie, Boynton-Brown and sophomore Lauren Christie of Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon. The set battled back and forth until 21-14, when Escobar closed out the set with three more kills after an ace from Collie for the 25-17 win and a 2-1 lead.


In the fourth, the Sharks laid off the gas and gave up a 4-1 run early to give UH Hilo a 9-5 lead which they kept the entire game. At 11-8, the Vulcans streaked for five making it 16-8 until the Sharks answered back with a 7-3 run of their own bringing them within three. However, the Vulcans shut it down quick with a couple of kills and two blocks to get their momentum going. Beale closed down the set with a final three kills to even the match at two sets each after the 25-16 win.
 
Set five was one to be remembered for the Sharks.
 
HPU opened on a 4-1 lead with kills from Collie, Christie and Escobar, but was broken with a 4-0 run by UHH for a 9-6 advantage late in the set. Facing the first match point down 14-12, both Boynton-Brown and Christie came to the rescue with a block, and Escobar saved the day tying the match at 14-all with a powerhouse kill. The teams continued to exchange points exchanged with HPU tying it at 16-16 as Escobar cranked another kill. An attack error by Beale gave HPU match point at 17-16. McClean ended the set with a gorgeous tape height serve to Vulcan Kaila Liazama who slipped trying to recover for the ace and the match as HPU won 18-16.
 
The Sharks close out their nine-match home stand on Wednesday night as they battle cross-town rival and PacWest leader Chaminade in a 7 p.m. contest at The Shark Tank.