HILO, Hawai'i – Two of the top women's volleyball contenders in the Pacific West Conference went toe-to-toe in Hilo in an early season showdown Saturday and, in the end, it was Chaminade University which came out on top.
The Silverswords got a season-high-tying 17 kills from
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia) and a season-best 15 more from
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) to lead them to a thrilling 21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 15-11 win over the University of Hawai'i Hilo at in front of a vibrant 877 fans at UH Hilo Gymnasium.
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) and
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) each added 10 kills on the night. Reedy also hit .500 while Saulala's attack percentage stood at .333, also adding 10 total blocks, the most by a 'Sword since October 2015, tying for the second-most in school history. Rivera also added a season-best five service aces.
The win improved Chaminade to 2-0 on the season and 8-2 overall and also gave them two more points in the 2019-20 PacWest Hawai'i Challenge.
The Vulcans were led by Bria Beale's 15 kills as UH Hilo, making its conference and home opener, fell to 5-4 and 0-1.
It was the Silverswords' seventh consecutive win over the Vulcans, dating back to 2016 and their ninth straight over an island foe.
For a while, it appeared that both streaks were in jeopardy as UH Hilo shrugged off a 6-1 deficit by using a 7-0 run midway through the set to turn an 18-15 deficit to a 22-18 edge en-route to going up 1-0.
The 'Swords then stunned the pro-Vulcans crowd by scoring the second set's first five points. However UH Hilo scored seven of the next 10 to draw to within 8-7 but Chaminade outscored them, 7-4, on natural points from there to square the match.
In the pivotal third set, the 'Swords trailed 19-17 but Reedy slammed down three consecutive attacks then added another to help them pull away and take a 2-1 lead.
The Vulcans survived Rivera serving three aces during an early 5-1 Set 4 run to capture the fourth set and send the match into a first-to-15 scenario, Chaminade's first five-setter this season.
UH Hilo appeared to have the inside track to start the fifth by opening up a 3-0 cushion. But Chaminade rallied and took its first lead of the set (6-5) on Rivera's fifth and final ace of the match. Then with the score knotted at 11, Rivera's kill put the Silverswords ahead followed by a UH Hilo hitting error.
Nina Torio (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) then dealt an ace to set up aloha ball.
Alana Handy (Burlington, Wash./Bethune-Cookman Univ./Burlington-Edison HS) who did not make an appearance in the match until the fifth set, then got her only kill of the evening, a hard smash that landed just inside the back line to help the 'Swords end it on a 4-0 run.
Chaminade hit .181 for the match and held UH Hilo to .170. Both teams had nine aces with the Vulcans getting 13 total team blocks. The Silverswords had 12 blocks, their most since October 2017 when they pushed back 13.
Saulala not only tied for second-most total blocks in a match with
Reigna Johnson, who did it in 2015, Saulala also matched Johnson's No. 2 status for block assists with nine, which the latter accomplished twice, also in 2015. Meanwhile Reedy's five blocks is a new career-high while
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) added four.
Natashya Enos (Kahalu'u, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Saint Francis) dished out 32 assists while
Danielle Wiley (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) added 16.
Leka Kiner-Falefa (Honolulu/UNLV/Mid-Pacific Institute) had 17 digs while Zanon added 10.
The Silverswords return to the mainland next Saturday as they embark on a five-match road swing through the PacWest's Northern California region where they currently own a 10-match winning streak there.
