UHH Volleyball Sends Parilla Out With Senior Day Win

The season isn’t over for the University of Hawai`i at Hilo women’s volleyball team, but it is for its lone senior.

Kelia Parilla, a defensive specialist and ace server from Kaneohe, Oahu, played her final match for the Vulcans Sunday in a three-set victory over Holy Names University.

Set scores were 25-16, 25-15, 25-20.

Parilla was recently admitted to UH-Hilo’s College of Pharmacy, a large commitment that meant that she would have to occasionally miss practice. She will not fly with the team during the four-match road trip to continue her studies.

“She’s a warrior all the way and we love that girl,” said UH-Hilo head coach Tino Reyes after the match. “We’re gonna miss her.”

The senior started her third match of the season and contributed three digs and an assist.

UH-Hilo (10-11 overall, 5-11 PacWest) made fairly quick work of the visiting Hawks, holding big leads in each set. It allowed Reyes to get different lineups in for each set and also allowed him to give some rest in the third set to his best hitter, freshman Marley Strand-Nicolaisen, who had played in 80 consecutive sets before getting some rest.

“We finished on a high note, which is a good thing for us,” Reyes said of his team’s performance after the match. “We’ve got a long road trip ahead of us and hopefully we can do some damage on the road trip.”

Junior Callie Aberle led UH-Hilo with nine kills and three service aces. Strand-Nicolaisen added eight. The Vulcans swatted eight blocks and hit ..248 for the match.

Holy Names (1-25, 1-13) fell for the fourth consecutive time this season. They were limited to an .071 attack percentage and led by Marin Gibson’s eight kills. The Hawks committed seven service errors.

UH-Hilo boarded a plane hours after Sunday’s match to get on the road. The season ending four match road trip begins Wednesday at Dixie State.

Holy Names 16 15 20 – 0

Hawai`i Hilo 25 25 25 – 3