HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team completed a successful season-opening weekend of the Hawai'i Challenge by sweeping a doubleheader for the second consecutive night.
The Silverswords rolled past Minot State in straight sets, 25-14, 25-21, 25-15, at McCabe Gymnasium Saturday afternoon then finished the day with a 25-17, 25-17, 25-21 sweep of Chico State in the nightcap.
Chaminade improved to 4-0 on the season, doing so for the fifth time in the past six years.
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia) and
Emma Tecklenburg (Plano, Texas/Plano Senior) each tallied 19 combined kills with Reedy hitting at a .485 clip. Meanwhile
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) continued the impressive start of her sophomore season with 14 total kills.
Leka Kiner-Falefa (Honolulu/UNLV/Mid-Pacific Institute) had 34 digs on the day, giving her 50 on the season.
Chaminade 3, Minot State 0
Chaminade's 14-0 run in the opening set the tone of the match, turning a 5-3 deficit into a 17-5 advantage.
Alecza Abary (Fontana, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) served all 14 points in the surge which included four service aces and a kill.
However, Minot State (0-3), out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference that owns nine of the last 12 Division II national championships, regathered itself and led most of the second set. Down 20-17, the 'Swords forced five attacking error which was part of a set-ending 8-1 run.
Rae Montrose (Cedar Hills, Utah/Lone Peak) had two block assists during the stretch to help Chaminade to a 2-0 advantage.
In the third set, the Silverswords built an early five-point lead and never looked back with a convincing third-set victory which completed the sweep.
Chaminade hit .299 on the afternoon to Minot State's .134 and put down 41 kills to MSU's 30.
Reedy posted a match-high 11 kills with an attack percentage of .500 while Saulala contributed with nine kills and five block assists while hitting .471. Tecklenburg and
Alana Handy (Burlington, Wash./Bethune-Cookman Univ./Burlington-Edison) each put down six kills.
Natashya Enos (Kahalu'u, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Saint Francis) dished out 20 assists with
Danielle Wiley (Peoria, Ariz/Centennial) adding nine and Abary five. Kiner-Falefa posted 21 of the team's 43 digs in the win.
Shelby Spuller led the Beavers with nine kills.
Chaminade vs Chico State
The Silverswords used a 7-2 run midway through the first set to turn an 8-7 lead into a 15-9 cushion and a first set win.
Chaminade scored the first four points of the second set then got another 4-0 midway through to open up a 14-8 lead. Montrose had two kills while
Nina Torio (Mililani, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Mililani) added a service ace to help close out the second set.
The Wildcats battled back in Set 3 and owned a slim 14-13 edge. Later, they rallied from a 21-16 and closed to within a point on a 4-0 run. However, Tecklenburg's two kills helped squash the rally and finish off the Wildcats.
Tecklenburg put down 13 kills and hit for a .478 clip to lead all attackers. Reedy followed with eight kills and hit at a .467 clip with Saulala putting down five kills.
Enos and Wiley combined for 27 assists while Kiner-Falefa had a match-best 13 digs.
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) had nine digs with three block solos while Montrose also blocked three spike attempts.
Kim Wright and Grace Shepard led Chico State with eight kills each.
The 'Swords tallied 39 kills to the Wildcats' 31 and had eight aces to Chico State's one. Chaminade also hit .309 for the match while holding Chico State to a .156 clip.
Chaminade was the only Hawai'i Challenge participant to finish with unblemished 4-0 mark. Hawai'i Pacific University, Hawai'i Hilo and Sonoma State each finished 3-1.
With the four matches behind them, the Silverswords can now look ahead to next weekend when they travel to Pomona, Calif., for the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase for two matches which have certainly been circled on the team's calendar.
On Friday afternoon, the 'Swords face Western Washington, the third-ranked squad in Division II and the national runners-up in 2018. Then in the evening session, they face host Cal Poly Pomona, currently ranked No. 20 in the nation.
The 'Swords wrap up the Showcase on Saturday against Seattle Pacific and Cal State Monterey Bay.
