HILO, Hawai‘i — The Brigham Young University Hawai‘i women’s volleyball team, ranked 21st nationally in preseason rankings, capitalized on hitting to get past 18th ranked Seattle Pacific 3-0 on the opening day of the Hawaiian Style Classic. The Seasiders outhit
HILO, Hawai‘i — The Brigham Young University Hawai‘i women’s volleyball team, ranked 21st nationally in preseason rankings, capitalized on hitting to get past 18th ranked Seattle Pacific 3-0 on the opening day of the Hawaiian Style Classic.
The Seasiders outhit the Falcons .267 to .063 to dominate the floor in the first game played by both teams.
Lesina Funaki, senior outside hitter, came up with a pair of service aces to lead the strong Seasider showing in establishing a 10-5 lead in game one.
A Funaki kill in game two gave the Seasiders a 10-4 lead, almost a repeat of game one, but Seattle Pacific battled back to take the lead 22-21.
Sophomore Roseanne Vea deadlocked the match with a kill and the Seasiders scored the next three points to finish in control.
Tuli Peters pulled the Seasiders back into game three after the Falcons pulled out to an early 13-9 lead. Peters’ strong kill performances led the comeback effort.
A service ace by senior Kaala Lo gave the Seasiders the lead for good at 15-14. Lo has returned to the squad following her service as a missionary.
Funaki, a Kahuku High School grad from Laie, led the Seasiders by knocking down a career-high 12 kills and hitting a career-high .524. Funaki also led the Seasiders with 17 digs, 3 service aces and added a couple of blocks.
Peters matched Funaki with a dozen kills in her first match as a Seasider following her transfer from Fresno State. Peters also finished with nine digs.
Junior Noelle Filimoeatu added nine kills and 10 digs to the BYU-Hawai‘i balanced attack while sophomore middle blocker Faylynn Merrick powered six kills with a .444 hitting average. Merrick finished with a match-high five blocks.
Sophomore setter LeeAnn Mapu tallied 42 assists and eight digs for the Seasiders. Hau‘ula Vea picked up the first five kills of her BYUH career and made two blocks from the middle block position. Vea saw most of her action as a libero in the Seasiders’ last season.
Alyssa Given and Angie Wodrich paced the Falcons with 10 kills each with Tiffany Butac recording a match-high 20 digs.
