IRVINE, Calif. – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team on Wednesday rallied from a 0-2 deficit at Concordia University Irvine but couldn't finish the reverse sweep in a disappointing 25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 19-25, 15-11 loss at CU Arena.
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) had 16 kills, seven digs and two service aces to lead the Silverswords (19-7, 13-5 Pacific West Conference), who have lost four consecutive and five of their last six.
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) tallied her second straight double-double with 10 kills and 18 digs while
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) added 10, the most since returning from an injury which cost her two weeks in October.
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) contributed with seven kills followed by
Alana Handy (Burlington, Wash./Bethune-Cookman Univ./Burlington-Edison HS) with six.
Concordia (15-10, 9-8 PacWest) was paced by Jaclyn Brown who had 15 kills, 20 digs and five blocks.
The Silverswords got off to a slow start in the first set, falling behind 13-7. The deficit continued to grow with the Eagles running off eight of the set's final 11 points, putting the 'Swords behind 1-0. Chaminade committed 10 total errors (eight attack, two service) and hit just .056 in the set.
In the second set, the 'Swords again fell behind 19-15 but got four straight capped by Zanon's ace to tie it at 19. But the Eagles answered with three consecutive points of their own to help put Chaminade into a 0-2 hole.
With their back to the wall, the Silveswords performed more like the squad that started the season with an 18-2 mark. Deadlocked at 12, the 'Swords put together a 10-2 surge with Tecklenburg and Saulala accounting for half the points and taking a 22-14 lead. CUI mounted a massive rally and closed to within 24-23 on
Jacqueline Wolfe's (Laguna Hills, Calif./Irvine Valley CC/Mater Dei HS) kill to force extra sets.
Needing a win to force a decisive fifth, the 'Swords did just that. Leading 16-15, Chaminade scored four straight by forcing two Eagles hitting errors while getting a kill from Tecklenburg and an ace from Rivera to square the match at two sets apiece.
With six straight side-outs to open the fifth which knotted the score at 3, the turning point came when Concordia got three natural points to build its lead to 7-4. After getting a fourth to force Chaminade's second timeout at 10-6, the Eagles managed to side-out the rest of the set for the win. CUI hit .474 (nine kills and no errors) in the fifth while Chaminade did not help itself with five attack errors.
The 'Swords hit .171 in the match while Concordia was at .249. Chaminade managed to out-dig CUI, 80-77, with
Leka Kiner-Falefa (Honolulu/UNLV/Mid-Pacific Institute) leading the 'Swords with 23 digs.
Natashya Enos (Kahalu'u, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Saint Francis) got her fourth double-double of the year with 28 assists and season-high 16 digs while
Alecza Abary (Fontana, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) added 20 assists.
Concordia pushed back 16 total team blocks while Chaminade had four.
Meanwhile Tecklenburg's kills total gives her 1,249 in her career, putting her just 10 away from Valasi Sepulona (1,259) who is second in the school's all-time kills list.
The Silverswords will make the drive down the SoCal coast to San Diego on Thursday and face Point Loma in another crucial conference match.
