HONOLULU – With two of the biggest matches of the season looming on the horizon, the last thing the Chaminade University women's volleyball team needed was to look past a game Academy of Art squad that had taken down the University of Hawai'i Hilo some 48 hours earlier.
The Silverswords did indeed take care of business Saturday, getting double-doubles from
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/University of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS),
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) and
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis) to down the Urban Knights 25-22, 25-21, 19-25, 25-20 at McCabe Gymnasium.
Corti posted a team-high 17 kills with 18 digs, Pe'a with 14 kills and 11 digs while Byrnes had 47 assists and 10 digs, her team-best 18th double-double of the year.
Chaminade improved to 23-5 overall, tying the 2018 squad for the most wins in a season, and 13-3 in the Pacific West Conference. It sets up a massive – and highly anticipated – showdown when conference-leading Azusa Pacific visits McCabe Gym on Monday.
Marcelle Butler (Woodstock, Ga./Howard University/Sequoyah HS) added 13 kills for the 'Swords while
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) put down 12 while hitting .500 on the afternoon.
Two days after setting a school record with 34 digs in a three-set match, libero
Anna Dalla Vecchia (Vicenza, Italy/University of San Francisco/IIS S.B. Boscardin HS) had 25 more on Saturday. In her last seven sets, the graduate transfer is averaging a whopping 8.43 digs per set.
Kaua'i native Ashley Mecham led ART U (8-15, 5-10 PacWest) with a match-high 22 kills as the 'Swords took the season series.
Chaminade opened up a 19-10 lead in the first set then hung on as the Urban Knights closed to within a point three times before Corti and Byrnes put down consecutive kills to squash the rally and give the 'Swords a one-set lead.
The second set proved more balanced where ART U held an 18-17 advantage. After a Pe'a kill, the 'Swords forced three attack errors for a 21-18 lead. With Chaminade's hanging on to a 22-21 lead, kills from Butler and Corti set up set point where Dalla Vecchia's second of two aces in the match put the Silverswords up two sets.
ART U battled back to take Set 3 and in the fourth, the 'Swords saw a 14-7 lead whittled down to just two at 20-18. But Butler accounted for two points with a block and kill as the 'Swords scored four of the matches' final five points to secure the win.
Chaminade hit .283 in the match to Academy of Art's .229. They also had 59 assists and 82 digs while the Urban Knights tallied 42 and 68, respectively.
Now all focus will be Monday and Wednesday where Azusa Pacific is next. Monday's match is a makeup from Oct. 30 in Azusa while Wednesday's is the regularly scheduled match. The Cougars (16-4, 11-1 PacWest) are the two-time defending PacWest champions and enter Monday on a seven-match winning streak.
The Silverswords are just 2-13 all-time against APU and haven't beaten them since 2015, a streak of eight matches.
