HONOLULU, HI – Hawai'i Pacific women's volleyball battled hard in front of the home crowd at the Shark Tank on Thursday evening, but visiting Florida Tech left with a 3–1 win, taking the match 27–25, 25–20, 17–25, 25–19.

The Sharks (2-5) went toe-to-toe with the Panthers (4-1) in a competitive opening frame, rallying to push the set past 25 points before Florida Tech pulled away at the end. The visitors carried that momentum into the second set, capitalizing on HPU miscues to claim a 2–0 advantage. Refusing to fold, the Sharks responded with one of their best stretches of the season in the third. Behind efficient hitting from Ella Schoene and Peyton McBride, HPU swung at a .323 clip as a team to roll to a 25–17 victory and cut the deficit in half.

Florida Tech steadied in the fourth, leaning on balanced scoring to close out the match 25–19 despite the Sharks' effort at the net.

Schoene led the way for HPU with 12 kills on a blistering .480 hitting percentage while adding 10 blocks to finish with 18.5 points. McBride followed closely with 11 kills and 11 digs for a double-double, while Lindsey Tapp chipped in nine kills and 10 digs. Jordyn McCutcheon ran the offense with 21 assists and sparked momentum from the service line with four aces. Defensively, Taylor Kaoihana-Lee anchored the back row with a team-high 16 digs and three aces of her own.

HPU finished with 48 kills and hit .190 as a team, nearly even with Florida Tech's 58 kills on .189 hitting. The Sharks out-blocked the Panthers 12–8 but saw Florida Tech gain an edge in aces (11–9) and digs (66–62).

Although the Sharks came up short, the night showcased their resilience and potential heading into PacWest Conference play. With stretches of sharp defense and efficient offense, HPU will look to carry the positives forward as league action begins next week.