RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team showed a lot of fight in them, but California Baptist proved too much in a Pacific West Conference match at Van Dyne Gym on Wednesday.
Freshman outside hitter
Kira Long came off the bench and put down a team-high 12 kills as the Silverswords dropped the match, 22-25, 25-22, 25-11, 21-25, 15-11. It was the eighth five-set match that Chaminade has played this season.
The 'Swords dropped to 12-15 overall and 5-12 in the PacWest while the Lancers improved to 15-9 and 11-5.
Michelle Waber had 16 kills to lead CBU.
Chaminade did demonstrate excellent offensive balance as four other 'Swords had seven or more kills with
Suncica Bakic putting down 10, followed by
Cassie Rushlow, a Riverside native who attended Norco High School, with eight kills.
Ku`ulei Lynch and
Reigna Johnson had seven each.
Kaya Chong contributed with a season-high five kills.
Lynch also had a team-high five blocks on the night for Chaminade with Johnson and
Madalene Barrett getting three each.
Athena Maskarich had 28 digs on the evening while
Valentina Bevilacqua picked up her seventh double-double of the year (26 assists, 12 digs).
The Silverswords got off to a quick start to the match, jumping out to a 12-5 lead. The Lancers chipped away at the deficit and eventually tied the set at 15. Chaminade then ran off four straight with the help of two
Ka Ua Cale service aces and a double block from Johnson and Bakic to take a 19-15 lead. Rushlow's fourth kill of the set gave the Silverswords a 1-0 advantage.
Set 2 was played rather evenly, but eventually, CBU grabbed a 24-19 lead. The 'Swords staved off three set points before the Lancers got the point to tie the match.
After CBU took the third set, Chaminade jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in Set 4 and maintained it until the latter stages of the set. With the 'Swords up 22-18, the Lancers came back to draw within a point at 22-21, but a kill from Long, a CBU hitting error, followed by a
Natashya Enos ace sent the match to a decisive fifth set.
In the deciding set and leading 8-7, the Lancers got a crucial run of three straight points to put them up, 11-7. Chaminade fought back to close within two at 12-10, but CBU proved too much in front of their home fans, outpointing the 'Swords the rest of the way to win the match.
Statistically, the Silverswords had the advantage in kills (53-48), digs (85-78) and assists (53-45). Chaminade also collected seven aces to give them a PacWest-leading 188 on the year with Cale accounting for three of them.
The 'Swords will next face Point Loma on Friday. Match time is set for 5 p.m. HST.
