HONOLULU – When members of the Chaminade University women's volleyball team got out of bed Wednesday morning, they found themselves sitting atop the Pacific West Conference standings.
It came courtesy of their in-city rival Hawai'i Pacific University's upset of Azusa Pacific late Tuesday night, dropping them out of first place.
The Silverswords, the AVCA's 25th-ranked team in Division II, affirmed their position as the PacWest's new top team later that night by sweeping past the Cougars, 25-15, 25-17, 30-28, at McCabe Gymnasium.
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) put down a match-high 12 kills while
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) added nine. Four 'Swords –
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/University of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS),
Kyra McCain (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton),
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) and
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis HS) – put down six kills each.
The Silverswords improved to a school-record 25-5 on the year and, at 15-3 in the PacWest, hold a two-win lead over Biola (13-3) in the conference standings. Winning Monday's rematch also meant the 'Swords took the season series over the Cougars for the first time in program history.
Saulala added eight total blocks for Chaminade and Pe'a with 13 digs while Byrnes had another all-around performance with 34 assists, three blocks, two service aces and nine digs, snapping her streak of five straight double-doubles.
Anna Dalla Vecchia (Vicenza, Italy/University of San Francisco/IIS S.B. Boscardin HS) had 12 digs, extending her streak of double-digit digs to 19 straight.
The Cougars, who owned a seven-match winning streak entering their Hawai'i trip, dropped their third straight in the 808, falling to 16-7 overall and 11-4 in the PacWest. APU, which hadn't lost a season series to a conference foe since 2017 (California Baptist) also fell to fifth in the PacWest. Annaka Jorgenson and Kaitlin Craig each put down 10 kills for Azusa Pacific.
With Chaminade clinging to a 14-13 lead in the first set, the 'Swords went on a pair of 5-0 runs to take a 1-0 lead.
In Set 2, the 'Swords kicked the down the door, using an 8-1 run – with APU's only point during that stretch coming on a CUH serving error – to turn a one-point lead into a convincing win and a two-set advantage.
In the third, the leg-weary Cougars, playing for the third consecutive night, found their second wind and led for a majority of the set. Azusa Pacific managed to stretch its lead to 23-19 and, eventually, was serving set point at 24-22, looking to send the match into an extra frame.
That's when the match went into an epic finish with neither team giving ground.
After Chaminade roared back with three straight to serve for the match at 26-25, APU punched back and had two more chances to force a fourth set (26-25, 28-27) with the 'Swords getting a second match point at 27-26.
But a Cougar service error followed by an ace from
Tatiana Toleafoa (Union City, Calif./Cal State Fullerton/James Logan HS) set up Chaminade's third shot at aloha ball at 29-28. This time, Pe'a slammed down her final kill of the match to end it and keep the 'Swords in first place of the PacWest standings.
After dominating the stat sheet on Monday, the rematch was much closer. Chaminade put down 45 kills, dished out 37 assists, had 55 digs, five aces and 11 total team blocks. APU had 38 kills, 37 assists, 49 digs, four aces and nine total team blocks.
The 'Swords hit .236 on the night while holding the Cougars to a .106 percentage.
The Silverswords will play their final home match Friday when they host Point Loma at McCabe Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Dalla Vecchia, Toleafoa and
Leka Kiner-Falefa (Honolulu/UNLV/Mid-Pacific Institute) will be honored following the match.
