HILO, Hawai'i – If there was any kind of let down from Friday's night emotional win over Hawai'i Pacific University from the previous night, the Chaminade University women's volleyball team certainly didn't show it.
The Silverswords, less than 24 hours removed from a heart-stopping match against HPU followed by a morning flight to the Big Island, rolled through the first two sets en-route to a 25-12, 25-15, 25-23 win over Hawai'i Hilo Saturday at the UH Hilo Gym.
Kira Long (Vista, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) put down a match-high 14 kills with four blocks as the 'Swords won their second straight match against an island rival, improving to 11-9 and 6-6 in the Pacific West Conference. They also swept the season series for the second straight year.
Aston Jesse led the Vulcans (8-11, 5-7 PacWest) with nine kills.
Brooke Bell (Escondido, Calif./North Idaho College) had nine kills and five blocks for Chaminade while
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) added eight kills and 10 digs.
Terezie Cernosek (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) had four kills and career-high six total blocks.
Kiana Drumheller (Auburn, Wash./Auburn Riverside) smashed down a season-high seven kills.
Skyler Curry (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) and
Danielle Wiley (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) each dished out 16 assists with Curry,
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) and
Nina Torio (Mililani, Hawai'i/Mililani) each making eight digs.
Chaminade stormed out of the gate in the first set with a commanding 15-5 lead thanks in part to five total team blocks.
The second set saw a 6-5 CUH lead swell to 13-6 as they again pulled away to take a 2-0 lead.
The Vulcans weren't about to go down without a fight, however, taking a 10-5 advantage in the third set. But three kills and a block assist from Bell, two kills from Long and a kill and block assist from
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia) were part of a Chaminade 10-1 run to put them up 15-11.
UHH went on a 7-0 run at that point as Chaminade committed six attack and serve reception errors as the Vulcans retook an 18-15 edge. UH Hilo then went up 23-21 and after a Vulcans' service error, Long and Bell combined for blocks on back-to-back points to give Chaminade aloha ball. Long's kill then ended the match.
The Silverswords hit .337 in the match, their second-highest percentage of the season, and held the Vulcans to .080. They also held significant advantages in kills (47-26), assists (39-26), digs (50-30) and blocks (11-5).
The win over UH Hilo also gives CUH two more points in the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge. The Silverswords have six total points in the volleyball standings, ensuring them of at least a tie for the top spot. Chaminade can capture the first-place points outright with a win over HPU on Nov. 17.
The 'Swords return to McCabe Gym Friday against Concordia University Irvine at 7 p.m. The Eagles swept them in Irvine on Oct. 7. Live streaming audio coverage will be available on GoSwords.com.
