HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team opened Pacific West Conference action Thursday with a 25-22, 25-22, 25-19 sweep of Hawai'i Pacific University at McCabe Gymnasium.
The Silverswords showed offensive balance, led by 10 kills from
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior).
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood),
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia) and
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) each had eight kills in the victory for the 'Swords who improved to 7-2 overall.
An enthusiastic and energetic crowd of 345 on a "Pink Out Night" saw the Silverswords claim their fifth consecutive win over the Sharks and seventh in the last nine meetings.
Tecklenburg, who was honored before the match for reaching her 1,000th career kill last weekend, and Reedy were also efficient, hitting .421 and .429, respectively.
Emma Tecklenburg honored with 1,000 career kills before Thursday's match.
Perla Escobar had a match-high 15 kills for HPU (4-5, 0-1 PacWest).
Chaminade trailed just once in the first set (1-0) but began pulling away midway through. Consecutive service aces from
Danielle Wiley (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) put the 'Swords up 19-13. HPU, however, rallied late with four consecutive points to pull to within 23-22. Kills from Rivera and
Alana Handy (Burlington, Wash./Bethune-Cookman Univ./Burlington-Edison HS) ended the set. Chaminade had six of its season-high 10 aces in the first set with
Leka Kiner-Falefa (Honolulu/UNLV/Mid-Pacific Institute) delivering three.
The Sharks battled back from a 14-11 deficit in the second set and actually took a 17-16 lead. But a kill from Reedy and a kill from
Natashya Enos (Kahalu'u, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Saint Francis) on a dump shot put the 'Swords ahead for good.
Set 3 opened, fittingly, with an ace from Enos to help the 'Swords seize control of the stanza early. Unlike the first two sets, the Silverswords did not allow the Sharks to string together more than two straight points, and ultimately finished the deal with Tecklenburg's kill which ended the match.
Handy finished with four kills while Saulala was Chaminade's blocking leader with four. Enos dished out 21 assists while Wiley had 13. Kiner-Falefa dealt four aces, increasing her total to a PacWest-leading 17, and also had 10 digs.
Chaminade hit .301 in the match with 42 kills, 31 assists, 40 digs and 4.0 total blocks. HPU countered with 40 kills and a .292 percentage, 40 assists, 31 digs and 6.0 blocks.
The Silverswords will face Hawai'i Hilo on the Big Island on Saturday to continue the island rivalry theme.
