HONOLULU – The record books will show that on Wednesday, the Chaminade University women's volleyball team swept Holy Names.
However, it may not show just how competitive the match really was.
The Silverswords got 11 kills from
Marcelle Butler (Woodstock, Ga./Howard University/Sequoyah HS) and 10 each from
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) and
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/University of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS) to help them down a pesky Hawks squad, 25-23, 25-21, 25-15, at McCabe Gymnasium.
Chaminade, ranked 24th in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll, improved to 17-4 overall and 7-2 in the Pacific West Conference, one match behind conference-leading Hawai'i Hilo which survived a five-set scare from Dominican on Wednesday.
Holy Names fell to 5-12 overall and 2-7 in the PacWest with Lauren Sera providing a team-high seven kills.
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) came off the bench to record seven kills for the 'Swords.
Although Chaminade won its 11th straight in the series, the Hawks were a resilient group. Like the first meeting in Oakland in late September, Holy Names kept rallies alive, coming up with 51 digs, the second most by a Chaminade opponent in a three-set match this season.
Meanwhile, the 'Swords had 62 digs, a season-high for three-set matches and the most since Oct. 25, 2018 when they had 79 at Notre Dame de Namur, a rally-scoring era record for three-setters.
Anna Dalla Vecchia (Vicenza, Italy/University of San Francisco/IIS S.B. Boscardin HS) had a match-high 22 digs, the most by a Silversword in a three-set match since Brenda Walker's 22 against UH Hilo in November 2012.
Holy Names, who scored just 40 points total in their last McCabe Gym appearance in the 2019 season finale, raced out to an 8-2 lead. Reserve setter
Alecza Abary (Fontana, Calif./Rancho Cucomonga HS) helped turn the tide with a dump shot to begin a 5-0 run which helped them get back into the set. With the knotted at 21, the 'Swords forced two hitting errors by Saupuni Mavaega and got a service ace from
Tate Lutu (Honolulu/Sacred Hearts), setting up set point. The Hawks got back-to-back kills to close to 24-23 before Corti ended the set with a kill.
Chaminade used a pair of 4-0 runs in the second and lead by as many as seven (23-17) before the Hawks ran off five of the next six points to make the situation a bit harrowing for the home team. But Pe'a's sixth kill of the set ensured a 2-0 lead.
In the third, the Silverswords snapped a 9-all deadlock by going on a 13-3 surge to slam the door shut. They forced the Hawks into a -.051 attack percentage (seven kills, nine errors, 39 swings) in the set.
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis) recorded her fifth straight and team-leading 14th double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs. Pe'a and
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) each had three total blocks.
Chaminade, which extended its winning streak against the conference's Northern California pod to 29, hit .236 on the night and put down 46 kills with 41 assists and seven total team blocks. The 'Swords have not lost to a PacWest NorCal squad since Oct. 30, 2017 to Notre Dame de Namur.
Holy Names hit .055 with 30 kills, 28 assists and four total team blocks.
The Silverswords will host Dominican at McCabe Gym on Friday with first serve at 7 p.m.
