The latest in the line to fill the pipeline from ‘Iolani to Stanford in men’s volleyball is beginning to shine.

Sophomore Gabriel Vega has finally made his way into the Cardinal starting lineup and has no intention of giving up his spot.

Since becoming a full-time starter in mid-February, Vega has led the Cardinal in kills in six of the past nine matches he’s played.

The 2012 ‘Iolani graduate rewarded the move by Stanford coach John Kosty to put him in the starting lineup by winning the ACVA Men’s Division I-II National player of the week award last month.

Vega averaged 4.62 kills, 22.25 digs and 4.94 points per set in two wins over Brigham Young, which was leading the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation until dropping two to Stanford.

He hit .375 against the Cougars to give a struggling Stanford team its first two wins over a ranked opponent this season.

"It’s always gratifying to play well when you get the opportunity," Vega said. "We’ve been shuffling guys around trying to find the right fit and some days we look like the team that beat BYU, which was the No. 1 team in the MPSF, twice and then we look like a team that struggles against some teams that maybe we shouldn’t struggle against."

Vega played in only four matches in his first two years at Stanford, redshirting last season with a concussion.

He didn’t play in the season opener against UC Santa Cruz and was benched for three early MPSF games.

When the team fell to 3-8, including a shocking four-set loss to Concordia University, Vega was put back into the lineup in a four-set win over UC San Diego. The Cardinal lost in five to UC Irvine and were swept by Pepperdine before the two big wins over the Cougars.

Stanford swept the Tritons to get within two games of .500 in the MPSF but has dropped three of the past four and failed to win a game against both Long Beach State and Southern California.

"We definitely still need to work on our consistency," Vega said.

Vega is the fourth player from ‘Iolani to play at Stanford in the past 10 years. National player of the year Kawika Shoji started a trend that was continued by All-American Brad Lawson and, most recently, Scott Sakaida, who was on the team when Vega arrived.

Stanford’s local reach has extended to Kamehameha, Punahou and recently to the Big Island, where current freshman Evan Enriques grew up and went to school at Kamehameha-Hawaii.

"He’s doing well up here," Vega said. "He’s starting as a freshman, which I am incredibly proud of him for."

The two will return home this weekend as Stanford plays its final two regular-season road games against Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Cardinal (6-10 in conference) are tied for the eighth and final playoff berth with UCLA (7-11), but have played two fewer games. They need a split against No. 1 Hawaii to avoid falling behind the Bruins heading into the last weekend.

Cal State Northridge (6-11) is also in the hunt.

"We want to hopefully get at least one win so we can close out the season on a good note," Vega said. "I’m excited to get back to the islands and finally give my family a chance to see me play in the Stan Sheriff Center."

The teams play Friday and Saturday nights at 7.

CAREER STATISTICS

NOTES

‘Iolani alum Park named WAC hitter of the week

Northern Colorado outfielder Jensen Park was named the Western Athletic Conference hitter of the week on Monday.

Park, a 2011 ‘Iolani graduate, hit .588 (10-for-17) with two doubles, a home run, six RBIs and eight runs scored to help the Bears sweep New Mexico State over the weekend.

Northern Colorado scored at least 10 runs in all three games to improve to 6-3 in conference.

Park went 3-for-6 with two doubles and scored three runs in a 10-4 win on Thursday and collected four more hits and scored four times with a solo homer in Friday’s 10-1 win. He finished the series driving in five runs and stole two bases in a 13-4 victory.

Park has started 19 of the 20 games he’s played in and is hitting .350 with four doubles, two triples, two homers and 18 RBIs.

He was the player of the year in the Great West Conference as a sophomore, when he hit a career-best .397.

Yamamoto’s wicked bat earns conference honor

Pacific (Ore.) junior outfielder Kylee Yamamoto was the easy pick for the Northwest Conference position student-athlete of the week honor in softball.

Yamamoto dominated Lewis & Clark in a four-game sweep, batting .727 (8-for-11) with four doubles, four walks, 10 RBIs and two stolen bases.

The 2012 Hawaii Baptist graduate had a 1.091 slugging percentage and an .800 on-base percentage and did not strike out.

She leads the conference with 15 walks and ranks fourth in on-base percentage (.476), eighth in runs batted in (25) and ninth in batting average (.379).

The Boxers have won six in a row to improve to 14-6 in conference and 24-10 overall.

AROUND THE NATION

BASEBALL

» Kewby Meyer, Kamehameha ’11: The Nevada left fielder finished 8-for-13 with five doubles, a walk, five runs and three RBIs in a three-game sweep of UNLV over the weekend. The Wolf Pack are 26-6 and 12-3 in the Mountain West Conference.

» Tyler Meditz, Kamehameha ’13: The Santa Clara sophomore drilled a pinch-hit solo home run in the ninth inning of a 13-4 loss to San Francisco on Friday and was 3-for-3 with a double and a run scored in a 9-1 loss to the Dons on Thursday.

» Dylan Shiraki, Honokaa ’12: The Northern Colorado left-hander pitched the final 31/3 scoreless innings and allowed two hits and one walk with four strikeouts to complete a 10-1 win over New Mexico State on Friday.

» Reyn Sugai, University ’11: The Northern Colorado infielder finished 7-for-15 with two walks, two RBIs and six runs scored in a three-game sweep of the Aggies.

» Sheldon Lee, ‘Iolani ’10: The San Francisco senior left-hander won his third mid-week game against a ranked team this season, allowing one earned run on two hits in three innings of an 8-3 win over No. 19 Nevada on Monday. Lee beat California and Oregon earlier this season.

» Ka’ai Tom, Saint Louis ’12: The Kentucky outfielder went 2-for-6 with a run scored and a stolen base and was hit by a pitch in two losses against No. 1 Texas A&M on Thursday and Saturday.

» Christian Donahue, ‘Iolani ’14: The Oregon State second baseman hit a sacrifice fly to score the eventual winning run in the ninth inning of a 3-2 win over UCLA on Thursday.

» Kolten Yamaguchi, Konawaena ’11: The Pepperdine senior catcher went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer in an 11-5 win over Pacific on Saturday and finished 4-for-11 with a double, four runs and two RBIs in a series the Waves won two games to one.

» Kai Kealoha, Pearl City ’11: The Grand Canyon senior had the go-ahead pinch-hit RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning in an 8-7 win over Texas Pan American on Thursday.

» Travis Garcia-Perreira, Mid-Pacific ’12: The Grand Canyon left-handler got the final out with the bases loaded to earn his first save in the win over UTPA on Thursday.

» Justin Protacio, Mid-Pacific ’11: The Kansas leadoff hitter went 2-for-9 with four walks and two runs scored in three losses to Oklahoma last weekend.

» Tim Arakawa, Moanalua ’11: The Oklahoma State second baseman finished 3-for-15 with four walks and two runs scored in a three-game sweep of Texas over the weekend.

» Mark Karaviotis, Maui ’13: The Oregon shortstop went 3-for-9 with four walks and a run scored in three losses to Michigan State over the weekend. Since starting the season 13-2, the Ducks are 5-13 over their past 18 games.

» Dane Fujinaka, Mid-Pacific ’11: The Sacramento State junior went 4-for-12 with a double primarily as the designated hitter in three losses to Seattle University over the weekend.

» Scott Peters, Punahou ’11: The Cal Lutheran right-hander threw a seven-inning complete game in a 13-2 win over Pomona Pitzer on Friday, allowing four hits with three walks and six strikeouts to improve to 5-1 this season.

» Tanner Nishioka, ‘Iolani ’13: The Pomona-Pitzer center fielder finished 4-for-13 with a double, three runs, two RBIs and a stolen base in losing two of three to Cal Lutheran over the weekend.

» Nickolas Alarcio, Mid-Pacific ’12: The Puget Sound right fielder went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, two RBIs and a walk in a 14-4 win over George Fox on Saturday to salvage the final game of the series.

» Cal Muramaru, Mid-Pacific ’14: The Puget Sound left fielder went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in Saturday’s win over George Fox.

» Tiras Koon, ‘Iolani ’11: The Willamette (Ore.) senior finished 6-for-11 with a double, two homers, four runs and six RBIs in three losses to Pacific (Ore.) over the weekend.

» Todd Takabuki, Moanalua ’11: The Austin College first baseman went 5-for-13 with two runs and two RBIs to help his team win two of three against Southwestern University over the weekend.

WOMEN’S GOLF

» Hansol Koo, St. Francis ’14: The Portland State freshman closed with consecutive rounds of 5-over 77 to finish in a tie for 35th place at 12 over at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic on Tuesday.

» Taylor Viquelia, Kauai ’13: The Southern Utah sophomore was the top finisher on the team, closing with her best round of 1-over 73 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 40th place at 12 over at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.

» Nani Yanagi, Waiakea ’12: The Washington State junior closed with a 3-over 75 to finish in a tie for 45th place at 14 over at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.

» Kacie Komoto, Punahou ’13: The Northwestern sophomore closed consecutive rounds of 1-over 73 after opening with an 82 to finish in a tie for 21st place at 12 over at the Bryan National Collegiate on Sunday.

» Kelli Oride, Kauai ’11: The Notre Dame senior closed with a 3-over 75 to move up 13 spots into a tie for 67th place at 23 over at the Bryan National Collegiate.

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

» Jenna Frowein, Punahou ’12: The Stanford junior was selected to the Pac-12 women’s gymnastics all-academic first team with a GPA of 3.94. Frowein competed in an NCAA regional in Morgantown, W.Va., last Saturday and finished in 19th place in the floor exercise with a score of 9.80 to help the Cardinal qualify as one of 12 teams to compete at the NCAA National Championships on April 17-19 in Fort Worth, Texas.

» Tiana Montell, St. Joseph’s ’11: The UC Davis senior finished in eighth place in the women’s all-around at an NCAA regional in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday with a score of 39.078. Montell finished ninth on the vault with a 9.875, 19th on the beam with a 9.725, 25th on the floor with a 9.750 and 30th on bars with a 9.725.

SOFTBALL

» Kimberlee Souza, ‘Iolani ’11: The Washington catcher went 3-for-4 with a grand slam and a career-high six RBIs in an 11-4 win over Stanford on Thursday and finished 4-for-9 with nine RBIs in the three-game sweep of the Cardinal.

» Reina Furuya, Punahou ’12: The Penn State shortstop went 5-for-11 with two homers, a double, three runs and eight RBIs to help the Nittany Lions win two of three against Wisconsin over the weekend.

» Maegan Tupino, Leilehua ’12: The Penn State right fielder finished 5-for-10 with a walk and five runs scored against the Badgers.

» Mikela Manewa, Kapolei ’12: The Oregon State second baseman finished 4-for-9 with a homer, three runs, two RBIs and a stolen base in three losses to Arizona over the weekend.

» Fahren Glackin, Kamehameha ’14: The UNLV right fielder finished 3-for-7 with a double, a homer, three walks, five runs and five RBIs to help the Rebels win two of three against Utah State over the weekend.

» Jade Yadao-Valdez, Mililani ’14: The UNLV third baseman went 1-for-4 with two walks and two runs scored against the Aggies.

» Nicole Arata, Campbell ’11: The Utah State third baseman finished 4-for-9 with two homers, two walks, four runs and three RBIs against UNLV.

» Kayla Shimoda, Punahou ’11: The Columbia University senior went 2-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of Brown on Saturday.

» Cyanne Fernandez, Moanalua ’14: The Texas A&M-Commerce freshman went 4-for-11 with a run, an RBI and a stolen base in a four-game split against Tarleton State over the weekend. Fernandez started the final game of the series on Saturday and earned a complete-game victory to even the series, striking out seven.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

» Karly Pang, Hawaii Baptist ’12: The Marist (N.Y.) junior won in straight sets at No. 1 singles and was victorious in No. 1 doubles in the Red Foxes’ 7-0 win over Manhattan on Monday.

» Kristen Poei, ‘Iolani ’13: The Cal State Northridge sophomore won easily at No. 1 doubles to improve to 30-5 in that spot over two years in a 7-0 victory over UC San Diego on Monday.

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD

» Sophie Curatilo, Moanalua ’11: The Seattle University senior broke her own school record in the women’s 5,000-meter run, finishing seventh overall with a time of 16 minutes, 50.10 seconds during the San Francisco State Distance Carnival on Friday.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

» Josh Taylor, Punahou ’11: The Pepperdine senior hit .375 with 12 kills and five digs in a sweep of Southern California on Thursday.

» Micah Christenson, Kamehameha ’11: The USC setter had 29 assists, eight digs and two kills against the Waves.

» Larry Tuileta, Punahou ’14: The USC freshman outside hitter hit .333 with seven kills and four digs against Pepperdine.

» Sky Engleman, Moanalua ’14: The Grand Canyon freshman had a match-high 24 digs and six assists in a five-set victory over Hope International on April 1.

» Matt Heirakuji, Kamehameha ’11: The Hope International libero had a team-high 17 digs and four assists against Grand Canyon.

» Keenan Meyer, Saint Louis ’13: The Hope International outside hitter totaled eight digs, four kills, two assists and an ace in the loss to Grand Canyon.

» John Eddins, King Kekaulike ’12: The Stevens Institute of Technology junior had 17 assists, three block assists and a kill in a sweep of Kean University on Saturday.

» Mason Ohta, Kaiser ’13: The Lindenwood libero had a game-high nine digs in a three-set loss to Ohio State on Friday.

» Silia Tucker, Kalaheo ’13: The Graceland (Iowa) setter had 35 assists, seven digs, two blocks and a kill in a three-set loss to Clarke University last Thursday.

» DJ Wong, Kohala ’12: The Graceland junior had a team-high 16 digs and hit .556 with five kills in nine swings against Clarke.

» Casey Bolda, Kaiser ’13: The Lakewood College outside hitter hit .273 with 11 kills, two digs and two block assists in a four-set loss to Dominican University last Wednesday.

Compiled by the Star-Advertiser’s Billy Hull. To submit an athlete for publication, email bhull@staradvertiser.com.