HONOLULU – It may not reflect in their won-loss record, but the Chaminade University women's volleyball team is showing opponents they are a force to be reckoned with.
Despite a four-set loss to California Baptist on a rainy and humid Saturday afternoon at McCabe Gym, the Silverswords gave the Pacific West Conference's fourth-place team all it could handle, sending the first two sets to overtime before dropping a 29-27, 26-24, 23-25, 25-12 decision.
Cassie Rushlow had a team-high 12 kills for Chaminade (11-11 overall, 4-8 Pacific West Conference) while
Suncica Bakic and
Ku`ulei Lynch added eight.
Valentina Bevilacqua showed her offensive prowess as one of the conference's top attacking setters with a career-high eight kills on 10 attacks with a .800 attack percentage. She also added 31 assists, eight digs and two service aces.
Reigna Johnson and
Madalene Barrett added five kills each for the 'Swords. Johnson added a team-high three combined blocks.
Michelle Waber led the Lancers (12-7, 8-3) with a match-high 16 kills.
Set 1 was played evenly until CBU took a late 22-19 lead, then the 'Swords ran off three straight points to tie it at 22. A Waber kill set up set point (24-23), but Chaminade answered by forcing an attacking error to send it into extra points before the Lancers won the set.
In the second, the Silverswords rallied from an early 9-3 deficit with the help of a trio of Rushlow kills to knot the score at 13. The Lancers forged ahead, but three times down the stretch, Chaminade tied the score, including a
Kawai Oleole kill to again force extra points.
In the third set, the Lancers scored the first four points and held a 6-3 lead. But
Natashya Enos served seven straight points during an 8-0 Silverswords' run as Rushlow accounted for two kills while Lynch and Bevilacqua both had one. Even Enos got involved in the fun with an ace and a diving dig save that went over the net and onto the CBU side of the floor for her only kill of the match.
The Lancers mounted a rally of their own, taking a 17-15 lead, but again, the 'Swords showed their resolve by taking back the advantage at 20-19. The set then saw four ties, including at 23-all, before Chaminade sent the match to a fourth set courtesy of a Lynch kill and CBU hitting error.
Chaminade, ranked among the national leaders in service aces, picked up 10 more on the afternoon, giving them a conference-high 157 aces on the year.
The Silverswords, who played three matches in as many days, will get the next six off before returning to the McCabe Gym floor on Friday when they host Fresno Pacific University. Match time is set for 7 p.m. with live streaming audio on GoSwords.com.
