Box Score HILO, Hawaii -- Dominican women's volleyball kicked off their road trip with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-19) win Friday against the University of Hawaii at Hilo at the UHH Gymnasium.
 
Freshman Catherine Johnson led the Penguins (6-12, 5-5 PacWest) with 14 kills and four digs in the match. Junior Kate Even contributed 13 kills and led the defense with seven blocks, while senior Aimee Steinwand picked up a double-double, finishing with 11 kills and 10 digs. Freshmen Josie Walser and Hana Wyles were also key contributors in the match; Walser tallied 37 assists while Wyles had 19 digs. For the Vulcans (8-10, 5-6 PacWest), Ashton Jesse recorded 16 kills and two blocks.
 
Dominican remained close with UHH by coming back to tie the first set seven times. Two consecutive service aces from the Vulcans' Basia Sauni helped UHH strike first and they drew ahead 13-10 with a 4-0 run on three straight Penguin attack errors. Back-to-back kills from Jesse extended the Vulcans' lead to 15-11, forcing a Dominican timeout. With the help of a kill from junior Cat Thomason, the Penguins went on a 7-3 run to tie the game 18-18. However, back-to-back-to-back kills from Ashton Jesse allowed UHH to win the first set, 25-21.
 
Dominican struck first in the second set as two straight services aces from Walser and a couple early kills from Steinwand helped the Penguins gain an early 6-3 lead. The momentum continued for Dominican as they capitalized on a few Vulcan attack errors for a 13-8 advantage. UHH went on a 7-2 run to come back and take the lead 15-14 with the help of multiple kills and a service ace from Jesse. The rest of the set would remain close but the Penguins held off the Vulcans to take the set, 25-22.
 
Dominican carried that energy into the next two sets. Early on in the third set, the teams traded 3-0 runs until UHH went on a 5-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. The Penguins were able to reclaim a 15-14 lead with the help of three kills by Johnson in that 8-4 run. The Vulcans would attempt to come back several times, but a kill from junior Brittany Latigue allowed Dominican to hold off UHH once again and win the third set, 25-21.
 
Unlike the previous sets, the Penguins took control with an early 9-2 lead in the fourth, including three kills from Steinwand. The Vulcans responded with a 4-0 run to narrow the lead to 11-7 and used another 4-point surge later in the set. The Vulcans took advantage of a couple of Dominican attack errors and the Penguins were forced to call a timeout, holding onto a 23-19 lead. A kill from Johnson helped the Penguins to win the set 25-19 and take the match.
 
The Penguins will play Saturday against Hawaii Pacific at 7 p.m. HST in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Live stats and video will be available for the match online.