Box Score HONOLULU – When head coach Kahala Kabalis took over the Chaminade women's volleyball program in January 2012, her mantra for the team was "Chaminade on the Rise."
It appears that her message is coming to fruition. After several close losses, followed by the Silverswords' first 3-set sweep of the season on Thursday, the Swords continued their upward trend Friday, in a stirring come-from-behind victory over No. 23 Fresno Pacific at McCabe Gym, 25-27, 25-21, 15-25, 25-17, 15-13.
It's the program's first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since the Silverswords toppled No. 8 Nebraska-Kearney in September 2006.
The win improved the Swords to 7-12 overall and 4-10 in the Pacific West Conference. Fresno Pacific fell to 10-8 and 5-6.
The Swords got a balanced attack with five players with seven or more kills, led by
Kapiolani Rapoza and
Reigna Johnson who had 11 kills each.
Cassie Rushlow tallied 10 with
Crystal Powell's eight and
Kim Spring's seven. Johnson also had six total blocks, tying a season-high.
Valentina Bevilacqua recorded a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs. Rupia Inck led FPU with a match-high 20 kills.
"Don't sleep on us," said libero
Brenda Walker, who's 28 digs against the Sunbirds tied her season-high. "Our coach knows what she's doing and we're finally all clicking together as a team. We're finding our chemistry and I'm really excited for the road to come."
The first set was just a sign of things to come, going into extra points after CUH rallied from down six points to serve for the set at 25-24, but the Sunbirds got the final three points to go up, 1-0.
In the second set, Chaminade led by as many as six early on before FPU rallied to take a slim 15-14 lead. Chaminade was sparked by
Kawai Oleole, the third setter on the squad, who had four assists in a key run late in the set as CUH tied the match.
After dropping the third, the Swords came out with a sense of purpose in the fourth. Holding on to a 16-13 lead, Johnson imposed her will during a decisive 7-2 run, having a hand in all seven points with three kills, two block assists and two block solos.
Then in the dramatic fifth set, the Swords grabbed a 9-5 advantage, but the Sunbirds forced three hitting errors to take a 12-11 lead. Johnson again loomed large, getting a kill to tie the set at 12, then teaming with Rapoza for a double block to take a 13-12 lead. After a Spring kill, the Swords got two chances at aloha ball, the final resulting in a service error, sending the vocal crowd into a frenzy and the Swords' bench spilling on the floor to celebrate the upset.
Fresno Pacific held slight leads in almost every statistical category, except service aces (eight for CUH to FPU's six). But on this night, the only number that mattered was on the scoreboard.
The Silverswords return to the McCabe floor next Friday when they host Dominican at 7 p.m. Live streaming audio will be available on goswords.com.
