HONOLULU – After a successful home debut in Saturday morning's opening match of the PacWest Hawai'i Spring Tournament, the Chaminade University women's volleyball team couldn't make it 2-for-2, dropping a 25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 25-21 decision to the University of Hawai'i Hilo in the nightcap match of the opening day.
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) paced the Silverswords with 16 kills followed by
Rachel Reedy (Temple City, Calif./Arcadia) added 13.
However it was
Claire Zanon (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) who had quite a night. The senior, who is second all-time in career digs, added to her total with 25, increasing her total to 1,150. She also added two more service aces, moving her into seventh all-time with 101.
Aston Jessee had 14 kills to help UH Hilo (9-1 PacWest) clinch the PacWest Hawai'i Pod title.
After falling behind 20-14 in the first set,
Kyra McCain (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) helped ignite a 6-0 run with a kill and two blocks to tie it at 20. But UH Hilo got the final two points to take a one-set advantage.
The 'Swords mounted another big rally in Set 2. Down 7-3, the 'Swords ran off nine consecutive points, eight with
Elli Tsukano (Austin, Texas/James Bowie) at the service line. The Vulcans did get the deficit down to a single point but Chaminade scored eight of the set's final 10 points to square the match.
But the Vulcans won the third set and were in position to seize control of the match with a 13-8 lead in the fourth. But with Zanon at the line, she personally accounted for the first three points in a 6-0 surge to put the 'Swords ahead 14-13. Chaminade later owned a 20-19 edge but UH Hilo got four straight during a critical stretch of Set 4 to take the match.
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) added eight kills for Chaminade while McCain had seven and eight total blocks.
On paper, the 'Swords outplayed the Vulcans in nearly every statistical facet including kills (54 to 50), assists (48 to 45), digs (75 to 65), aces (8 to 5) and total team blocks (11 to 10). But UH Hilo got points at key moments during the match which proved to be the difference.
The match was played in front of 64 invited guests from both teams, the maxiumum allowed in McCabe Gym with safety protocols in place.
Chaminade and UH Hilo will face each other again at 2:30 p.m. in the final day of the Spring Tournament at McCabe Gym. The Silverswords will also meet Hawai'i Pacific University in the tourney finale at 7 p.m. The Vulcans and Sharks will start the final day off at 10 a.m.
