SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball came out strong but fell in four sets (23-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-19) Monday night to the University of Hawaii at Hilo at the Conlan Center.

Senior outside hitter Mariah Ahid led the Penguins (0-12, 0-3 PacWest) with 11 kills, while junior setter Gabi Maioco finished with 16 assists and seven digs. Bria Beale led the Vulcans (5-2, 2-1 PacWest) with 16 kills and 10 digs. 

Hilo got off to a strong start as it used several Dominican errors to build an early 7-1 lead, but the Penguins began the slow march back. A 4-0 run put Dominican within one point and they followed with a 6-0 run to take a 14-11 lead including back-to-back aces from Maiocco. After the Vulcans stormed back to tie the match on a 3-0 burst, they committed several errors to allow Dominican to extend the lead back to five late. UHH regrouped in a timeout as Samara Cruz sparked a 6-0 run with a pair of kills to regain a 20-19 advantage. The teams traded leads down the stretch but freshman middle Ella Jimenez put down a powerful kill and freshman outside hitter Devon Condie added a cross court kill to give the Penguins set point. Junior opposite Teddy Batinkova then took advantage when a Hilo middle slipped as she put the overpass back down quickly to take the first set.

Once again the Vulcans got off to a strong start in the second set as Alexandria Parisian served up an ace to make it 11-3. Dominican battled back on a 4-0 run as an ace by senior defensive specialist Braelyn Wakefield cut the lead to four, but this time UHH withstood the run as Beale had back-to-back kills to spark a 3-0 burst to take a 15-8 lead. It was all the room they needed as the teams traded points the rest of the way and the Vulcans tied the match at a set apiece.

The third set began as a seesaw battle between the teams until Cruz sparked a 4-0 Hilo run to take the 11-7 advantage in the set. The Vulcans continued to slowly build to their lead with several small runs as Beale had a kill to make it 22-13 late and they held on for the set victory. 

Errors plagued the Penguins in the early part of the fourth set as an 11-1 run gave UHH the 13-4 lead. The Vulcans held the nine-point advantage most of the remainder of the set, but at match-point senior defensive specialist Tiffany Wong led Dominican on a 4-0 run with a pair of kills to close the gap to five, but it was too late to mount a comeback as UHH held on for the victory.

The Penguins return to the court Wednesday to take on Chaminade at 7 p.m. PDT at the Conlan Center.