HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team got 13 kills each from
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) and
Kira Long (Vista, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista) to down Hawai'i Hilo in four sets Friday at McCabe Gym.
The Silverswords improved to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the Pacific West Conference in the 25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 25-18 win.
Brooke Bell (Escondido, Calif./North Idaho College) contributed to the Chaminade cause with 12 kills at a .476 clip while contributing with five blocks.
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) had 11 kills with 18 digs.
The Vulcans, making their PacWest opener, got 11 kills from Siera Green as they fell to 3-4 and 0-1.
The contest between the two interstate rivals was also the first contest of the 2017-18 academic calendar of the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge which enters its third year of competition between Chaminade, UH Hilo and Hawai'i Pacific University.
Danielle Wiley (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) had 37 assists for Chaminade and was one dig shy of a double-double.
Isabella Tessitore (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines) wore the libero jersey for the first time this season and set career-highs with 13 digs and seven assists.
Along with Bell's five total blocks, the 'Swords got four more from Long and three from
Terezie Cernosek (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) as they amassed eight total team blocks.
After a convincing first set win, Chaminade appeared to be headed to another easy win in the second, taking a 24-17 advantage. But UH Hilo staved off six straight set points before Tecklenburg was re-inserted into the lineup and got the necessary kill to up the home team up 2-0.
The momentum seemed to carry over into the third for the Vulcans as they captured the set to force a fourth. With the Silverswords leading 18-17, Zanon put down consecutive attacks while Cernosek accounted for two more points with a kill and block assist as they scored seven of the match's final eight points to capture the win.
Both Chaminade (.171 attack percentage) and UH Hilo (.099) struggled with hitting efficiency but the Silverswords had the decided edge in kills (55-37), assists (55-33) and digs (69-52). The Vulcans managed to win the battle at the service line (8-4) and total team blocks (13-8).
The Silverswords' six-match conference-opening home stand continues next Friday when they host Fresno Pacific at McCabe Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m. with live streaming audio coverage at GoSwords.com.
