SAN FRANCISCO – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team completed their 11-day, five-match road swing to Northern California with a straight set win Saturday at Academy of Art.
The Silverswords, playing perhaps the toughest of their five opponents of the trip, faced early difficulty but managed to down the Urban Knights, 28-26, 25-16, 25-23, at Kezar Pavillion.
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) put down a team-high 11 kills while
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia) added 10 to help Chaminade improve to 13-2 overall – the best 15-match start in program history – and 7-0 in the Pacific West Conference.
The victory kept three of the 'Swords' streaks intact:
- - Their eighth straight win.
- - Fifteen straight wins in the conference's NorCal region.
- - Won their school-record 14th consecutive road match.
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) had four kills while Latasia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood),
Alana Handy (Burlington, Wash./Bethune-Cookman Univ./Burlington-Edison) and
Leka Kiner-Falefa (Honolulu/UNLV/Mid-Pacific Institute) had two each.
Natashya Enos (Kahalu'u, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Saint Francis) had 13 assists followed by
Danielle Wiley (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) with nine and Alecza Abara (Fontana, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) six.
Kiner-Falefa paced the 'Swords with nine digs, although it snapped her streak of eight straight double-digit matches while Teckenburg added eight.
Chaminade, the PacWest leader in service aces with 108 entering Saturday, was held to just four with Rivera getting three. Enos did not record an ace, stopping her streak of 12 consecutive matches with at least one ace.
The 'Swords also tallied seven total team blocks with Saulala accounting for four block assists while Reedy and
Rae Montrose (Cedar Hills, Utah/Lone Peak) each had three.
ART U (4-11, 2-6 PacWest) was led by Sadie Emery's match-high 13 kills.
After a see-saw beginning of the first set, Chaminade owned a 23-19 lead before the Urban Knights rallied to tie it at 24 and had two shots at set point. But the 'Swords scored four of the final five points, ending the set on a block by Saulala and Zanon.
The second set was nearly a repeat of the first. Then at 11-all, Chaminade went on one of its patented runs. An 8-0 surge was highlighted by all three of Rivera's aces and Tecklenburg's three kills to help the 'Swords pull away for a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Chaminade rallied from a 17-12 deficit, catching the Urban Knights at 19 and 20 with Reedy accounting for both tying kills. Reedy got yet another spike to fall which put the 'Swords up, 21-20. That was followed by an ART U attack error and a Rivera kill which helped CUH expand its lead to 24-21. The Urban Knights scored two straight, prompting a Chaminade timeout but Saulala and Reedy rejected Mariana Figuerora's attack for the match-ending point.
Chaminade hit .270 and had 43 kills to Academy of Art's .160 and 35.
The Silverswords return to McCabe Gymnasium and open an eight-match home stand on Wednesday against Biola (7-7, 4-2 PacWest). The Eagles were picked to finish third in the PacWest and have defeated the 'Swords in all three meetings between the schools. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
