HONOLULU – Atop the Pacific West Conference standings, the Chaminade University women's volleyball team knows they are the hunted.
It wasn't more evident Thursday as the conference-leading Silverswords had to rally from 0-2 down against a struggling but hungry Fresno Pacific squad.
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) slammed down a match-high 21 kills including 13 in the final three sets as the 'Swords survived a 22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-14, 15-4 thriller over the Sunbirds at McCabe Gymnasium.
Reigning PacWest Player of the Week
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia) also had 21 to set a new career-high and added a pair of service aces in the win.
Chaminade, which is just outside the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll at No. 28 this week, remained with unblemished conference record at 10-0 and 16-2 overall. They also own a three-match lead over idle Azusa Pacific (13-2, 7-0 PacWest).
Fresno Pacific fell to 2-18 overall and 1-10 in the PacWest. Miska Legatova had a team-high 10 kills.
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) added 13 kills for Chaminade which pulled off its first reverse sweep since rallying against Hawai'i Pacific University on Oct. 24, 2015. The junior also had 23 digs, one shy of her career high.
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) added nine kills.
Early on, it was Fresno Pacific which had control. The Sunbirds hit .333 (28-4-72) in the first two sets and did not commit an attack error in the second set in which they hit .448. Meanwhile they frustrated the 'Swords to a measly .200 (30-15-75) in the opening two sets including just .171 in the first frame.
Staring at their first conference loss on a potential sweep no less, the 'Swords finally had enough. Reedy hammed down nine kills in the third set and also got her second ace of the season. Tecklenburg had four kills during the set for Chaminade which also turned up the heat defensively, holding FPU to just seven kills with five errors in the frame.
Facing the same prospect in the fourth, CUH opened up leads of 12-3 and 16-6 to force a decisive fifth set.
Chaminade forced Fresno Pacific into three attack errors while Reedy accounted for a kill and a block with
Jacqueline Wolfe (Laguna Hills, Calif./Irvine Valley CC/Mater Dei) to open up a 6-1 advantage. The 'Swords then slammed the door shut on a match-ending 6-0 run. Tecklenburg and Zanon each had three kills during the surge to finish off the Sunbirds.
Natashya Enos (Kahalu'u, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Saint Francis) and 32 assists in the win while
Alecza Abary (Fontana, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga HS) added 21.
Leka Kiner-Falefa (Honolulu/UNLV/Mid-Pacific Institute) equaled Zanon's dig performance with 23. Rose Montrose (Cedar Hills, Utah/Lone Peak) had five blocks including four assisted.
Although Chaminade hit a respectable .232 in the match, it made up for a subpar first two sets. The 'Swords hit .302 in the final two frames and held the Sunbirds to a minus-.102 in the same span. Fresno Pacific, which pounded down 28 kills in the first two sets, had just 14 in the final three. It included just seven kills as a team and 12 hitting errors combined in Sets 4 and 5.
The Silverswords had 67 kills on the night to Fresno Pacific's 42 and 63 assists to 38 for the visitors. Chaminade also amassed 80 digs while FPU had 55.
However the Sunbirds had eight aces to the 'Swords' five and had 10 total team blocks to Chaminade's six.
The Silverswords return to action Friday when they face Dominican at McCabe Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
