HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team continued their record-breaking starting-season run on Wednesday with a four-set win over intercity rival Hawai'i Pacific University.
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) and
Alana Handy (Burlington, Wash./Bethune-Cookman Univ./Burlington-Edison) recorded double-doubles en-route to a 22-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-14 win to improve to a program-record 9-0 start and 3-0 in the Pacific West Conference.
Tecklenburg, the reigning PacWest Defender of the Week, hammered down 18 kills and came up with 11 digs while Handy had 12 kills and 10 digs.
Tecklenburg tallied her fourth consecutive double-double and fifth on the year while Handy also tallied her fifth of the season.
The match was designated as "Pink-Out Night" by Hawai'i Pacific Health, the Official Health Care Provider of Chaminade Athletics, for breast cancer awareness. Despite Tropical Storm Olivia which drenched O'ahu for much of the afternoon and into the early evening, 360 raucous fans still showed up, the largest crowd to witness a Silversword volleyball match since September 2010.
The Sharks (2-7, 1-2 PacWest) were led with 11 kills by Nicole Ferris and Perla Escobar.
Once again, the 'Swords got balanced attacks with four others getting at least six kills.
Brooke Bell (Escondido, Calif./North Idaho College/Calvin Christian) put down nine kills, followed by eight from
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia) and six each from
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) and
Terezie Cernosek (Santa Clarita, Calif./Valencia).
Setters
Danielle Wiley (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) and
Skyler Curry (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) helped in distribution with 25 and 21 assists, respectively.
Zanon had a match-high 17 digs while
Nina Torio (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) had 14 with Chaminade picking up 66 on the night.
Bell collected a match-high four total blocks while Cernosek had three.
As with the nature of the rivalry, HPU battled from the onset and claimed the first set via a .300 attack percentage. But the 'Swords roared back in the second, jumping out to leads of 10-5 and 16-8 then ending the frame on a 7-1 run. Chaminade held HPU to a miniscule .024 percentage and did not allow a natural point in the set.
After winning the third set to go up 2-1, the Sharks showed plenty of fight by rallying from several early deficits and eventually took the lead twice. But the 'Swords dug deep and eventually took a 17-14 advantage. Chaminade then went on a match-ending 8-0 run with Torio serving the final seven points including her service ace at aloha ball. The 'Swords hit .400 in the set while HPU hit just .032.
All told, Chaminade – which entered the match ranked No. 1 in the nation in kills per set (15.11), fourth in assists (13.74) and fifth in hitting percentage (.281) – put down 59 kills, totaled 51 assists and hit .309. Six Silverswords hit at least .316 on the night led by Zanon's .500 percentile while Reedy hit .462 and Cernosek .400. The 'Swords also had eight total team blocks.
The match was also the first played in the 2018-19 PacWest Hawai'i Challenge which enters its fourth year.
The Silverswords hit the road for their annual jaunt through Southern California where they will face four of the top five picks in the PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll including preseason favorite Azusa Pacific. Chaminade opens the trip Monday at Biola which was picked second in the poll.
