HONOLULU – Round 1 goes to the visitors.
The Chaminade University women's volleyball team suffered their first loss in over a month, dropping a 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 decision Friday to Azusa Pacific at McCabe Gymnasium in the first meeting between the Pacific West Conference's top two squads.
The loss was the Silverswords' first conference loss this season, snapping their school-record 13-match winning streak. It also ended their 12-match home win streak, also a program record.
Chaminade fell to 18-3 overall and 12-1 in the PacWest but are still atop the conference standings. APU remains in second place at 15-3 and 9-1 in the PacWest.
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) led the 'Swords with 10 kills while
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) added nine.
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia), the two-time defending PacWest Player of the Week, was held to six kills.
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) had eight while
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) put down seven after missing the previous four matches due to an injury.
The Cougars were led by Julianne Miller and Sara Wagenveld with 12 kills each. The Cougars, leading the conference in defensive hitting percentage held the 'Swords to a .200 clip, their lowest since Sept. 21.
APU also amassed 10 total team blocks with Miller accounting for seven with a block solo and six block assists.
In front of a "Blue-Out" crowd of 855, the largest to see a 'Swords' volleyball match since attendance started being tracked in 2006, Chaminade was on a roll early, opening up a 4-1 lead. But the defending PacWest champs and preseason pick to repeat, showed their mettle by using a 6-0 run to turn an 8-5 deficit into an 11-8 cushion. APU expanded its lead to as many as eight to take the first set.
The story was basically a sequel of the first with Chaminade opening up leads of 10-4, 11-6 and 13-7. But the Cougars crept back then scored five straight to knot the contest at 15. Both teams then went on three-point runs before the 'Swords grabbed a 21-19 lead on kills from Tecklenburg and Zanon. However APU stunned the home team with a set-ending 6-0 run to take a 2-0 lead.
Down 8-5, this time it was Chaminade which showed the comeback ability with five consecutive points on two kills each from Rivera and Zanon while
Leka Kiner-Falefa (Honolulu/UNLV/Mid-Pacific Institute) added an ace. Their lead swelled to as many as five then later to 20-17. However the turning point was another 5-0 APU run which put it ahead 22-20. The 'Swords were never able to string together another run as the Cougars celebrated the pivotal win to help their chances to repeat.
The 'Swords, who lead the conference in kills and assists, tallied more successful attacks (42-38) and assists (37-31) and were slightly out-dug (42-40). However, Chaminade, which also leads the conference in service aces, managed just five on the night while the middle-of-the-pack Cougars had six.
Natashya Enos (Kahalu'u, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Saint Francis) had 18 assists for the 'Swords while
Alecza Abary (Fontana, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) had 11. Kiner-Falefa had a match-high 12 digs and two of Chaminade's aces. Reedy led the 'Swords with three blocks.
The Silverswords will look to rebound Saturday against Point Loma (12-8, 8-4 PacWest), which has lost its first two matches in the 808, most recently at Hawai'i Pacific on Friday. First serve is set for 3 p.m.
