Vulcans avoid sweep

HILO — At least the broom wasn’t brought out, again, and the University of Hawaii at Hilo showed some fight against Nebraska-Kearney, the No. 4 ranked team in the country.

However, the Vulcans avoided a sweep but not a second straight loss and got served with another reminder that life without Hillary Hurley — who led the nation with 6.48 kills per set last season, even topping Division I players — won’t be a bed of roses.

For consolation, UH-Hilo can rest assured that the Lopers are no ordinary team. They’ve made 13 straight appearances at the NCAA Division II tournament. They’re coming off a 32-2 season, which produced a final No. 9 ranking.

Nebraska-Kearney hammered the Vulcans 25-14, 25-9, 17-25, 25-12 at Vulcans’ gym in the Vulcan Classic, needing just 1 hour and 39 minutes and posting lopsided numbers in the stat department.

Bria Morgan led the Vulcans (0-2) with 16 kills, but she committed 10 errors, took 61 swings and hit just .098, nearly identical to the team’s .093 hitting percentage.

Patty Snel posted a double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs. She hit .146, and that was pretty much the end of UH-Hilo’s highlights as far as stats.

The Lopers blasted balls at a .331 clip, outblocked UH-Hilo (10-5), had more digs (71-44) and featured far more assists (51-30), a sign of ball-control; good for Nebraska-Kearney, not so much for the Vuls.

Ellie Pesavento had a night to email her family about: 15 kills, only two errors on 21 swings for a smoking .619 hitting percentage. Ariel Krolikowski also lit up the Vulcans; she smashed 16 kills, made just three errors on 33 attempts, and hit .394.

Kaleigh Anderson had 19 digs to lead four Lopers in double-digits, a disturbing sign for the Vulcans that whatever they hit often didn’t touch the floor. UH-Hilo took 140 swings; Nebraska-Kearney needed just 118.

Today, UH-Hilo plays British Columbia at 11 a.m. and Augustana College, which swept UH-Hilo on Thursday, at 7 p.m.