HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team opened the 2016 campaign with a resounding 3-0 sweep of Alaska Anchorage Friday at McCabe Gym.
A balanced attack of six Silverswords had four kills each in their 25-19, 29-27, 27-25 win over the 14
th-ranked Seawolves in front of a crowd of 352.
Kim Spring,
Cassie Rushlow and
Daisia LaBrie had eight kills apiece while
Emma Tecklenburg added six.
Kiana Drumheller and
Terezie Cernosek had four each.
It was the third straight year that the 'Swords (1-0) won their season opener. The victory also avenged their only opening night defeat in Chaminade head coach
Kahala Kabalis Hoke's five-match tenure in openers which came in 2013 against UAA.
Meanwhile, Spring's effort moved her past Danielle Robins into seventh on the Chaminade all-time kills list with 784.
The 'Swords also held the opposition to a .081 hitting percentage by forcing 25 attacking errors on the night and handed the Seawolves (1-1) their first regular season, non-conference loss since 2014.
Natashya Enos had a team-high 21 assists while
Hannah Baker dished out 13 helpers.
Kasse-Ann Kiriu-Dela Cruz, getting the nod at libero, had 18 digs while
Waihilo Chartrand returned to action for the first time in nearly 20 months due to injury and contributed with 10 digs.
LaBrie also had five blocks on the evening while Rushlow had four including a pair of block solos.
"Everyone did a great job," Spring said. "We played together and it felt really, really good (to get the win)."
The 'Swords overcame a case of the first-night jitters, rallying from down 5-1 early. Chaminade battled back and extended a slim 18-17 lead with four straight points to win the first set.
In Set 2, it was Alaska Anchorage who rallied back, overcoming four set points to force extras. But the Silverswords forced an attack error then Drumheller's spike found pay dirt on the next serve to put the 'Swords up 2-0.
The third set went down to the wire, going to extra points again. Tied at 25, LaBrie hammered down an attack to set up aloha ball then Spring and Cernosek teamed at the net for the clinching block to ensure the upset win.
The 'Swords return to action Thursday when they open the Honolulu Invitational against Montana State-Billings at McCabe Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m. with live streaming audio coverage on GoSwords.com.
