HONOLULU – Back home after a four-match road swing, the Chaminade University women's volleyball team on Thursday opened the first of four straight matches at the comfortable confines of McCabe Gymnasium.
The Silverswords, ranked 24th in the AVCA Top 25 Poll, rallied from down four points late in the fifth set to down Concordia University Irvine, 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 21-25, 17-15.
Marcelle Butler (Woodstock, Ga./Howard University/Sequoyah HS) and
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) put down 16 kills each to help the 'Swords extend their winning streak to five. Butler hit .343 in the match and also recorded five blocks.
Chaminade, which wore pink uniforms in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, improved to 16-3 overall and 6-1 in the Pacific West Conference, tying them for the conference lead with Hawai'i Hilo and Azusa Pacific.
Concordia, which swept Hawai'i Pacific to open their 808 road trip in straight sets on Wednesday, were led by 14 kills each from Patience O'Neal and Kirra Schulz and fell to 9-4 and 4-2 in the PacWest.
Reigning PacWest Player of the Week
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) added a season-high 12 kills while hitting .346 with four blocks.
Kyra McCain (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) also had a dozen kills and four blocks with
Greta Corti (Varesa, Italy/University of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS) contributing with 11 kills and 16 digs.
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis HS) recorded her team-leading 12th double-double of the season with 46 assists and 14 digs while
Anna Dalla Vecchia (Vicenza, Italy/University of San Francisco/IIS S.B. Boscardin HS) delivered a match-high 29 digs.
Up two sets, the 'Swords were poised to make it a quick night, taking a 20-15 lead in the third set. But Concordia caught fire with the help of Danielle McCasland who had three kills while Hannah Tostado, the conference's Defender of the Week, added two kills and a block as the Eagles ran off eight straight points – a 10-1 run in all – to give them a sense of hope.
The rally opened the door for Concordia which opened up a 12-4 lead early in the fourth. Chaminade managed to cut the deficit to two twice at 17-15 and 19-17 but the Eagles outscored the 'Swords 6-4 to force a decisive fifth set.
With momentum clearly on the side wearing green, the Eagles opened up a 9-5 lead but Pe'a and Butler put down attacks then Byrnes collected her third and final service ace of the night to narrow the deficit to 9-8. CUI then ran off two straight to take an 11-8 edge and it seemed again that the home team was in loads of trouble.
However Pe'a smacked down a kill which started a 4-0 run which put the 'Swords in front for the first time since they were up 2-1. Saulala and Butler combined for three of the points during the rally on kills and a block. From there the teams traded the next seven points with Concordia fighting off two match points.
Tied at 15, a CUI service error set up Chaminade's third crack at aloha ball and Pe'a made it count by bashing the match winner.
CUH hit .242 in the match, putting down 70 kills with 61 assists, six aces, 83 digs and eight total team blocks. CUI hit .235 with 60 kills, 56 assists, 76 digs, seven blocks and six aces.
Chaminade, which last played a five-set match on Sept. 5 against Central Washington in Bellingham, Wash., has won all five of its five-setters this season.
The Silverswords face another conference contender Saturday when they host Biola (7-6, 3-2 PacWest) at 3 p.m. Fans are still prohibited from attending the match.
