HONOLULU – Thc Chaminade University women's volleyball team opened their 2021 spring season Saturday by dropping both matches of the first PacWest Hawai'i Spring Tournament at Hawai'i Pacific University's Shark Tank.
Both came in five-set marathons with the Silverswords dropping the first match to host HPU, 20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 13-15, then the second to Hawai'i Hilo, 18-25, 27-29, 25-19, 27-25, 8-15.
Newcomer
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) helped to answer the question of who could replace Emma Tecklenburg, the school's No. 2 all-time leader in kills, by putting down 40 combined kills on the day.
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia) added 29 more.
Setter
Danielle Wiley (Peoria, Ariz./Centennial) recorded two assist/digs double-doubles, combining for 42 assists and 13 digs. Freshman
Kyra McCain (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) tallied 12 combined blocks.
HPU 3, CUH 2
The Sharks took the first set of the tournament's opening match, 25-20, putting down 16 team kills. HPU's Cameryn Collie nearly had as much successful attacks (7) as the 'Swords did as a team (9).
Chaminade responded by scoring the seven points of the second set before HPU rallied to within five. The 'Swords eventually pulled away by out-hitting the Sharks, .310 to .027 in the set, tying the match at 1 with the 25-18 win.
HPU was poised to take the third set, jumping out to a 16-11 lead. But
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) and Zanon teamed up for a block which began an 11-3 run to help the 'Swords win the set, 25-21 and take a 2-sets-to-1 lead.
Down 16-9 in the fourth set, Chaminade came roaring back with the help of two points from Reedy on a block and kill, two kills each from Pe'a and
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) as the 'Swords got to within 20-19. But HPU got the five points to win the set, tying it at two.
In the fifth, the 'Swords owned an 11-8 advantage but the Sharks got four natural points including the final three to end the set and the match.
Both teams were not particularly efficient with the attack, with Chaminade hitting .151 and 28 hitting errors in the match to HPU's .143 and 32 errors. Pe'a, who was the leading attacker at Division I Youngstown State in 2019, put down 23 kills in her first match as a Silversword.
The 'Swords amassed 11 total team blocks, led Saulala who had five including one solo. Reedy added five, one short of career high. McCain also pushed five swings back. Wiley had identical numbers of 21 assists and 21 digs.
Collie led the Sharks with a match-high 28 kills.
It was the first season-opening loss for the Silverswords since 2013.
UHH 3, CUH 2
Despite scoring the first four points of the afternoon match, the 'Swords couldn't stave off Vulcan runs of 15-8 and 9-3, the latter which ended the first set. And in the second, Chaminade had two set points before UH Hilo scored the final three to win in extra points, 29-27.
Down 2-sets-to-none, the Silverswords opened up leads of 7-1 and 12-5 to win the third set. They also stormed back from a 16-11 deficit in the fourth, forcing extra points then ended it with a McCain kill and consecutive service aces from Rivera.
However the weary 'Swords could not overcome an 11-3 deficit in the fifth. They did manage to put a scare in the 2019 PacWest runners-up and NCAA West Regional participants by scoring five straight points, paced by two aces from
Kendall Rios (Tustin, Calif./Foothill). UH Hilo ended the suspense with a match-ending 4-0 run.
Reedy put down 19 kills for Chaminade while Pe'a added 17 more. McCain had seven total blocks with Wiley dishing out 21 assists for a second straight match, pairing it with 13 digs.
Riley Lynch (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kalaheo), serving as Wiley's back-up, set career highs with 20 assists and 11 digs.
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) had a team-high 17 digs while Pe'a added 15.
Brea Beale led the Vulcans with 17 kills.
The 0-2 start represents the first such occurance by the 'Swords since 2010.
"We had a tough Day 1," head coach
Kahala Kabalis Hoke said. "But we're looking to make the adjustments so we can properly showcase our talents."
The Silverswords get one more crack each at the Sharks and Vulcans on Sunday in the tournament finale. Chaminade faces UH Hilo at 10 a.m. then, after a break, faces host HPU at 7 p.m.
