SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball showed some fight on Senior Night but ultimately fell 3-1 Saturday night to the University of Hawaii at Hilo at the Conlan Center.

Edee Leslie led the way for the Penguins with five kills and seven blocks to go with a service ace, while Ella Heckman added 11 kills on a .222 hitting percentage. Samara Cruz led the Vulcans with a double-double of 16 kills and 24 digs.

Imeleta Ale led UHH to an early 3-1 advantage but Teddy Batinkova found the floor on a kill before Leslie served up an ace to tie things right back up. After Cruz led a 3-0 Vulcan run with a kill and a block to retake an 8-4 lead, Heckman sparked Dominican with back-to-back kills before combining with Amani Abed for a kill and Abed followed the block up with a kill to cap the 4-0 run and tie the set once again. Things remained close until Kendall Kott sparked a 5-0 Hilo run with a kill to take a 17-11 advantage. Vanna Marquez highlighted a 3-point burst by the Penguins with an ace as they cut the lead in half, but the Vulcans held on for the 25-20 set one victory.

UHH kept things rolling to start the second set as it opened on a 5-0 run, but Avery Schneider had back-to-back kills to cap a 3-point Penguin reply to trim the lead back to two. Sophia Charpentiere helped the Vulcans open up its lead as she ended a 3-0 run with a kill before adding a solo block to spark a 4-point run that gave them a 13-6 lead. UHH continued to add to its lead as it pulled away for the 25-14 victory in the set.

Dominican found its groove to begin the third set as Jasmine Heyward set the tone with an ace and Heckman then followed with three kills in a 4-0 run to take the 5-2 lead. Leslie then sparked a 5-1 run with a kill off an overpass as the Penguins extended the lead to 10-5. The Vulcans began a slow but steady charge back into contention with a steady diet of 2-0 runs that tied the set up at 13-13. Cruz then capped a 5-0 run with a kill to put UHH in firm control leading 18-14. Sophia Hull though kept Hilo out of a groove with her service finding the floor for one ace while Heyward slammed an overpass back into the court to end a 6-point run that put the Penguins back in front 22-20. After the Vulcans tied it up, Batinkova followed up an error with a kill to get Dominican to set point and Heyward ended it with another kill to give Dominican a 25-23 set victory.

Cara Bolte helped Hilo get back on track in the fourth set as she found the floor three times for a kill to help build a 7-3 lead. Leslie then went on the defensive gathering a pair of blocks to power a 4-0 run that closed Dominican's deficit to 13-12. Once again Bolte provided the spark for the Vulcans with a pair of kills to push the lead back to four but Leslie found the floor on a kill to get the ball in the hands of Hull on the service. Hull had an ace and Heyward then capped the 4-point run with a kill to tie the set 16-16. After trading the next few points, Cruz had back-to-back kills to highlight a 7-1 run to give UHH match point. Dominican staved off the first two points, the second on a Heyward service ace but were unable to make it three straight as the Vulcans won 25-20. 

Dominican will return to the court Wednesday to face Hawaii Pacific at 6 p.m. PDT at the Conlan Center.