HONOLULU –The Chaminade University women's volleyball put together one of their most dominant single-day efforts in recent memory Saturday, opening the Hawai'i Challenge with two convincing sweeps at McCabe Gymnasium.
The Silverswords did not allow both Montana State Billings and Cal State East Bay to reach the 20-point threshold in their six sets played, cruising past MSU Billings, 25-18, 25-11, 25-19 followed by a 25-15, 25-13, 25-12 blitzing over Cal State East Bay.
Chaminade hit a combined .333 (84 kills with 22 errors on 186 attacks) on Saturday to improve their record to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the Challenge.
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) put down 18 kills on the day while
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) had a season-high 10 in the nightcap.
Chaminade 3, MSU Billings 0
A 5-0 run by the 'Swords early in the first set helped set the tempo for the match keyed by
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/University of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS) and McCain who teamed up by blocking consecutive MSUB attacks.
Chaminade dominated the second set by opening up a 14-3 edge, a lead that eventually swelled to 24-9.
The third set was a much more competitive with the match tied at 15. But
Tate Lutu (Honolulu/Sacred Hearts) spent four consecutive points at the service line to help the 'Swords put the match away.
Pe'a had a match-high 12 kills while Corti added seven and four blocks.
Kyra McCain (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton),
Marcelle Butler (Woodstock, Ga./Howard University/Sequoyah HS) and
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) each had six with McCain and Corti combining for 10 total blocks.
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis HS) had 32 assists while
Anna Dalla Vecchia (Vicenza, Italy/University of San Francisco/IIS S.B. Boscardin HS) had 14 digs and three service aces.
Chaminade put down 44 kills while hitting .294 with 38 assists, 53 digs and nine aces. MSUB hit just .120 with 27 kills. The Yellowjackets (3-3, 0-2 Hawai'i Challenge) were led by Skylar Reed's eight kills.
Chaminade 3, CSU East Bay 0
Up 10-8 in the first set, Byrnes spent five consecutive points at the service line, accounting over half that run on a kill and two aces to put Chaminade up 16-8. The 'Swords would hold the Pioneers to a minus hitting percentage (-.062) in taking the first set lead.
The Silverswords revved up the engine early in the second set, using runs of 5-0 and 7-0 to go up handily two-sets-to-none.
A 7-0 run early in the third set, capped off by a Pe'a kill, a Dalla Vecchia ace and kills from Rivera and Byrnes helped the 'Swords wrap up the match in just 65 minutes.
Rivera's 10 kills were followed by seven by Saulala and six from Pe'a. Byrnes had 22 assists, nine digs and five kills while Dalla Vecchia posted 11 digs.
Chaminade allowed just 19 Pioneer kills and held them to a .012 attack percentage. The 'Swords themselves put down 40 kills with six aces and eight total team blocks while hitting .381, their highest percentage of the season.
Cal State East Bay fell to 4-3 overall and finished the Challenge with a 2-2 mark.
The 40 total points surrendered by Chaminade was the fewest since allowing 39 at Holy Names in October 2019.
The Silverswords conclude the Hawai'i Challenge Sunday with matches against Saint Martin's and 10 a.m. then a rematch against MSU Billings at 4:30 p.m. Hawai'i Hilo and MSUB will square off in the 12:30 p.m. match.
