HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team began a six-match road swing with a 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 win Sunday over Hawai'i Pacific University at James Castle Gym at St. Andrew's Priory School.
Alana Handy (Burlington, Wash./Bethune-Cookman Univ./Burlington-Edison) put down a match-high 14 kills while
Brooke Bell (Escondido, Calif./North Idaho College/Calvin Christian HS) put down 11 with no errors for a .647 percentage and three total blocks for the Silverswords.
The match was punctuated with an epic third-set comeback with the 'Swords rallying from a 23-17 deficit.
Chaminade improved to 15-4 on the year, guaranteeing them a winning season for an unpreceded fourth consecutive season. With a 9-4 Pacific West Conference mark, they are a half-game behind fourth-place Hawai'i Hilo (9-3) and one behind third-place Point Loma (10-3).
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) had seven kills, giving her 804 in her career, becoming just the ninth 'Sword to reach the 800 mark. She also had nine digs.
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) also had seven kills while getting 11 digs, two aces and two blocks.
Skyler Curry (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) dished out 20 assists along with eight digs while
Danielle Wiley had 15 assists and seven digs. Meanwhile
Kiana Drumheller (Auburn, Wash./Auburn Riverside) got her first start of the season in the absence of
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia).
Cameryn Collie led the Sharks (6-13, 5-8 PacWest) with 10 kills.
The Silverswords found themselves down 11-7 in the first set but Handy had six kills during a 12-4 run to them take the first set.
A 9-2 surge in the middle of the second set helped give the 'Swords a 2-0 match lead.
Then in the third, HPU's 10-1 run turned a two-point deficit into a 21-14 lead with Chaminade burning both timeouts. The Sharks eventually got it to 23-17 and the energetic HPU crowd anticipated a fourth set.
But the 'Swords weren't finished. A bad HPU set opened the door, putting Curry at the service line and never left, running off seven straight points including an ace. Handy accounted for four points during the surge with three kills and a block. Bell got three points including a kill which tied the set at 23 and then teamed with Zanon on a block to make it 24-23. Handy completed the stunning comeback with a spike through HPU left-side block.
Chaminade tallied 45 kills, 43 assists and 49 digs while HPU managed 35 kills, 34 assists and 47 digs. The Sharks got six total team blocks to the 'Swords four and both teams had six aces.
The 'Swords, who swept the season series, have won four straight against HPU – and six of the last eight – in the series which was long dominated by the Sharks from the late-2000s until 2015. The victory also ensured that Chaminade will at least get a tie for the first-place points in the volleyball portion of the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge.
The Silverswords open a five-match road swing to Northern California Saturday when they face Academy of Art.
