HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team bid aloha to McCabe Gymnasium and three seniors Friday.
The 25th-ranked Silverswords did not disappoint the home faithful in their final home match of 2021 with a 25-15, 25-15, 25-16 victory over Point Loma.
Chaminade improved to a school-record 26-5 on the season and remained atop the Pacific West Conference standings at 16-3, maintaining a two-win lead over second-place Biola. They have likely solidified one of the eight spots in the NCAA West Regional in three weeks.
Three 'Swords –
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/University of San Franciso/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS),
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) and
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) – each put down nine kills in the win.
Kyra McCain (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) contributed with eight kills while
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) added seven kills and six total blocks.
Setter
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis) quarterbacked the 'Swords to 32 assists, giving her a program single-season record of 1,095, breaking the previous mark of 1,088 held by Nikolina Rastovac in 2004. The junior also had seven kills and five digs.
Libero
Anna Dalla Vecchia (Vicenza, Italy/University of San Francisco/IIS S.B. Boscardin HS) tallied 20 digs, giving her 605 on the season, becoming the first 'Sword in school history to reach 600 digs in a single season.
Point Loma (13-12, 9-8 PacWest) was paced by Claire Smith who had a team-high seven kills.
The two teams matched up evenly early in all three sets. However in all three, the 'Swords created separation at around the 10-point mark. Chaminade trailed 10-9 in the first set before going on a 14-3 run for a convincing win the first set, holding the Sea Lions to a minus-.029 hitting percentage.
In the second set, the 'Swords broke an 8-all deadlock with an 8-1 run. And in the third, a 9-1 Chaminade surge snapped a 10-10 tie.
The 'Swords hit .285 in the match, holding the Sea Lions to a .071 percentage. They also doubled up them up in kills, 51-to-25. Chaminade also had 39 assists, 64 digs and nine total team blocks while Point Loma was limited to 22 assists, 45 digs and six total blocks.
Following the match, Dalla Vecchia, defensive specialist
Tatiana Toleafoa (Union City, Calif./Cal State Fullerton/James Logan HS) and libero
Leka Kiner-Falefa (Honolulu/UNLV/Mid-Pacific Institute) were the seniors honored.
Toleafoa played a key role in the team's wins over Azusa Pacific earlier in the week with four combined service aces and several digs.
Kiner-Falefa, who originally set the season digs record of 489 in 2019 before Dalla Vecchia surpassed it on Oct. 28, was slated to be the starting libero before a knee injury in early August sidelined her for the year.
The Silverswords can wrap up a share of the PacWest title next Friday with a win at Hawai'i Hilo, a feat they haven't accomplished since 1996. To claim the championship outright and the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA West Regional that comes with it, they will need some help.
Because Biola won both meetings against Chaminade this season, the Eagles are in control of their own destiny for the conference's AQ if they win their final three matches, due to owning the tiebreaker over the 'Swords. Biola faces Academy of Art on Saturday, plays at Azusa Pacific on Thursday and ends its season at home against Point Loma next Saturday.
However a Chaminde win at UH Hilo and one Biola loss would mean the Silverswords would be the outright PacWest champion.
