SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball battled the University of Hawaii at Hilo deep into a fifth set, but came up short as it fell 3-2 (22-25, 25-15, 25-20, 18-25, 15-11) Thursday night at the Conlan Center.

Senior outside hitter Kate Even finished with a match-high 18 kills on a .261 hitting percentage for the Penguins (6-15, 4-12 PacWest). Sophomore Catherine Johnson added 16 kills, while senior Cat Thomason finished with 10 kills and four blocks. Sophomore setter Josie Walser chipped in a double-double of 42 assists and 11 digs.

The Vulcans (17-5, 13-3 PacWest) were led by Alexandra Parisian's 14 kills, while Ashton Jessee finished with a match-high 11 blocks.

After the teams traded points to open the first set, Parisian led a 7-2 run with two kills as they built a four-point lead. Dominican responded as both Even and Johnson had two kills during a 5-0 run to retake the lead at 11-10. Walser then spread the ball around to three different attackers to lead a 4-point burst to extend the lead to five. The Vulcans slowly chipped away at the lead until they retook the lead at 21-20 after a block by Armani Moultrie. Head coach Yami Nolan called a timeout to rally her team after the run and they responded with a 5-1 run to take the first set.

UHH started strong in the third set as Moultrie sparked a 4-0 run with a kill and a block assist to build an 8-3 lead. Johnson had a personal 3-0 run to close the gap to 11-9, but it was as close as the Penguins would get in the set. The Vulcans used several Dominican errors during a 6-1 run to extend its lead to seven and they would go on to take the second set 25-15.

UH Hilo dominated the early part of the third set, opening on an 8-1 run, but the Penguins would not go away so easily this time. Dominican used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to three and Walser then sparked another 4-0 charge a few minutes later with two kills to tie the set at 11. The set remained tight for the next several minutes until Bria Beale found the floor on a kill and followed with an ace to help the Vulcans take a 21-17 lead on their way to taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

Errors plagued UHH in the early part as the fourth set as the Penguins jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Johnson then had two kills during a 5-1 run to extend the lead to 11-6 and Dominican looked to regain its first set form. Thomason sparked a 6-point run with a kill and a block to extend the Penguin lead to 10 and they cruised to victory to send the match to a fifth set.

The fifth set was highly competitive as Dominican matched every Hilo run in the first half of the set, but several Penguin errors aided the Vulcans on a 5-1 run to help them build a 13-9 advantage. Dominican was able to put together back-to-back points, but UH Hilo answered with two of their own to take a 15-11 victory on a kill by Moultrie.

The Penguins will be back in action Saturday as they take on Holy Names at 7 p.m. PDT at the Conlan Center. The athletics program will be celebrating Academic Night as well as honoring the three outgoing seniors. Live stats and video will be available online.