FRESNO, Calif. – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team opened the fifth annual D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase with a pair of sweeps Thursday at Fresno Pacific University's Special Events Center.
The Silverswords opened the day with a historic 25-22, 25-12, 25-23 win over UC San Diego during the morning session in a battle of 2-0 squads.
They wrapped the evening with a 25-17, 25-20, 25-13 win over Seattle Pacific.
Reigning Pacific West Conference Player of the Week
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) and
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcardia) each totaled 23 kills on the day for the Silverswords who improved to 4-0 on the season. It's the fourth time in the last five years they have won their first four matches of the year.
Reedy hit .475 (23 kills, four errors, 40 attacks) on the day while Tecklenburg went for .313 (23-8-48).
Alana Handy (Burlington, Wash./Bethune-Cookman Univ./Burlington-Edison) had 21 total kills and 30 digs.
Match 1 vs. UCSD
The 'Swords certainly had reasons to celebrate their victory over the Tritons who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA Division II Top-25 Poll and will be departing for the Division I ranks in 2020. Prior to Friday's win, they had never defeated UCSD in six tries including Chaminade's first-ever NCAA West Regional match in 2002. In fact, they had only taken one set in each of those previous meetings, losing in four in 2003.
Trailing 21-19 late in the first set, the 'Swords used a 4-0 run to help them go up 1-0 which helped set the tone the rest of the match.
In the second set, Chaminade held the Tritons to a -.130 hitting percentage, going on runs of 13-5 and 6-0 to win convincingly to take a two-sets-to-none lead.
UCSD (3-1) made things interesting towards the end of the third set, rallying from down 23-17 with five straight points before kills from Reedy and Tecklenburg secured the sweep.
Chaminade got double-doubles from both Tecklenburg (10 kills, 10 digs) and Handy (14 kills, 11 digs) while Reedy added 10 kills with a .389 hitting percentage.
The 'Swords hit .320 for the match with Tecklenburg,
Brooke Bell (Escondido, Calif./North Idaho College/Calvin Christian) and
Terezie Cernosek (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia) along with Reedy all hitting .364 or better.
Bell and Cernocek also had three total blocks each.
Danielle Wiley (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) and
Skyler Curry (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) combined for 37 assists while Wiley and
Nina Torio (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) each had two service aces.
Match 2 vs. SPU
The 'Swords were outstanding in the first set, hitting .387 while holding the Falcons (1-4) to a measly -.036 percentage. SPU had just four kills as a team in the set while Tecklenburg had six by herself.
Seattle Pacific managed to forge an 18-all tie midway through the second set but Bell put down two kills while successful attacks from Handy and Reedy as the 4-0 helped the 'Swords pull away to a 2-0 lead.
Chaminade again found itself in a battle in Set 3, holding on to a 13-10 advantage. But an 8-0 run with Curry at serve put the match away. Tecklenburg and Reedy accounted for all but one point during the surge.
Bell put down 10 kills against SPU while Handy added seven and 19 digs. Wiley and Curry again proved to be an effective setting duo, each dishing out 19 assists. Cernosek had three total blocks with
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit), Bell and Reedy contributing with two each. Zanon also had 12 digs to the cause.
The 'Swords hit .336 for the match while holding the Falcons to just .051. In addition to slamming down 53 kills, Chaminade surrendered just 19, the fewest since Sept. 2015 when Felician College had just 18.
The 'Swords out-dug SPU, 58-37 and had 46 assists to their 19.
The Silverswords conclude the Showcase Saturday with a highly-anticipated match against another unbeaten in Chico State (6-0) at 10:45 a.m. Pacific time. They conclude the Showcase that afternoon against Simon Fraser (2-2) in a rematch of a contest played last Thursday won by the 'Swords at the First Hawaiian Bank Challenge in Hilo, Hawai'i.
