Chaminade junior Trina Kauliakamoa isn't one to draw attention to herself, but after 31 kills (4.43 per game), 21 digs and seven aces in two road matches against Notre Dame de Namur last week, the accolades were unavoidable.

The 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Las Vegas was named the PacWest Conference player of the week for leading the struggling Silverswords to a split with NDNU, ranked second in the conference.

"She's just a real team player," said Chaminade head coach Glennie Adams. "She's not real demanding. She just does her job quietly but effectively."

And if it sometimes seems as though Kauliakamoa was born to play the game, one needs only examine the family gene pool.

Kauliakamoa's mother Debbie was a standout with Brigham Young-Hawai'i, and she and husband Joe are stalwarts of the Las Vegas volleyball scene. Kauliakamoa's sister Tamara also played for the Silverswords.

Kauliakamoa's recognition marks the first time a player from the University of Hawai'i-Hilo or Hawai'i Pacific University has not won the award this season.

HILO SURGES AHEAD

If UH-Hilo is this season's Cinderella in PacWest volleyball, its carriage is leaving quite a swath of destruction in its wake.

The Vulcans (16-5, 7-0 PacWest) swept a pair of home matches against defending PacWest champion BYUH — 3-2 and 3-0 — last week to extend their lead to three games over Notre Dame de Namur (7-13, 4-3) with seven matches left in the regular season. UH-Hilo also beat Dominican (Calif), 3-0, in a non-conference match.

Sophomore Desiree Agader, a two-time conference player of the week, recorded 103 assists over the three matches. Two other sophomores, Josimara Pinheiro (44 kills) and Laura Rodriguez (80 digs), also played major roles.

The Vulcans next face Chaminade in a home match Saturday.

FAITH BEFORE GLORY

BYUH's Elwen Li and Maggie Deng completed a clean sweep of Division II titles at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Tournament in Mobile, Ala., last week.

Li paired with Deng to win the doubles title, defeating second-seeded Irene Squillaci and Aina Rafolomanantsiatosika of Abilene Christian, 6-1, 6-1, on Friday. Li then defeated second-seeded Johanna Dahlback of Armstrong Atlantic State , 6-0, 4-6, 6-4, to win the singles title a day later.

The tournament culminated with a Small College Super Bowl featuring champions from NCAA Division II and III, NAIA and NJCAA on Sunday.

However, because of its affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, BYUH does not participate in athletic competitions on Sundays, which are considered a holy sabbath.

Both Li and Deng withdrew from the Super Bowl event in accordance with this policy.

BYUH, HILO TIED AT TOP

An idle week for BYUH resulted in a rise in the women's soccer standings as rival UH-Hilo suffered its first loss of the season to put the two teams in a tie for first with identical records of 5-1 (15 points).

The Vulcans finished the week 2-1, beating Notre Dame de Namur, 2-0; falling in overtime to Dixie State, 2-1; and rebounding for a 2-1 road win over Grand Canyon in double-overtime.

By beating the Vulcans, Dixie State (4-1-1) now stands just a point behind the leaders. Teams earn three points for a win, one for a tie.

BYUH returns to action Saturday with a home game against Chaminade.

HAWAI'I TEAMS FADING

Hawai'i men's soccer teams went 0-6 last week while conference leader Grand Canyon moved closer to clinching the championship.

Grand Canyon (8-4-3, 6-0-0), which shared the conference title with Notre Dame de Namur last season, defeated No. 2 Hawai'i Pacific (5-6-0, 3-2-0), 2-0, last Friday and followed up with a 4-1 win over UH-Hilo (5-8-0, 2-3-0) on Saturday.

Grand Canyon can secure at least a share of the championship with two wins; it can win the title outright with two wins plus a loss by HPU.

HPU MEN PREVAIL, 1-0

Max Anton scored at 78:37 as Hawai'i Pacific beat host Cal State Monterey Bay, 1-0, in a men's match yesterday.

Matt Terry had five saves for HPU.

UH-HILO ROUTS MILLS

Jani Carmona and Karissa Robertson both had hat tricks as Hawai'i-Hilo routed Mills College, 13-0, yesterday in a women's soccer match at Oakland, Calif.

Also scoring for the Vulcans were Casey DaSilva, Jessica Winslow, Megan Urquico, Lacey Scheiner, Cherise Lee, and Vanessa Butin. UH-Hilo also got a score on an own-goal by Mills.

The Vulcans took 50 shots to 1 for Mills.

Grace Hedemann had four assists for the Vulcans.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.