HONOLULU – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team on Saturday defeated Holy Names University in straight sets, 25-13, 25-13, 25-18, at McCabe Gymnasium to remain the Pacific West Conference's lone undefeated squad.
As they have done for the better part of the month, the Silverswords spread the wealth with five attackers who put down five or more kills, led by nine each from
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) and
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood).
Sasha Colombo (Milan, Italy/Colorado State/Liceo Scientifico Giordano Bruno HS) added eight kills while
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/Univ. of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS), the reigning PacWest Player of the Week, and
Ajack Malual (Trento, Italy/Tambosi ETI) had five each.
The victory was the 13th straight for the 'Swords which tied the program record for consecutive wins set in 2019. Chaminade improved to 16-6 overall and, at 11-0 in the PacWest, holds a 2 ½ match lead over second place Fresno Pacific, who was swept earlier in the day at Biola.
Two other streaks remained intact after Saturday's win. Chaminade won its 19th straight conference match, dating back to last season while also extending their win streak over PacWest foes from the Northern California/Central Valley regions to 36 straight.
The Hawks, which had defeated Hawai'i Hilo and Hawai'i Pacific to start their road trip, fell to 10-12 overall and 5-8 in the PacWest. Lauren Sera, their scrappy 5-foot-8 outside hitter, had a match-high nine kills on the afternoon.
Like they did against Dominican University of California on Wednesday, the 'Swords used the service ace to establish early control of the first two sets. Corti had two aces early in Set 1 to help get Chaminade an early 5-1 lead then had two more in the second set to give them a 6-1 advantage. In all, Corti had six aces which established a new career high.
The Silverswords did not allow the Hawks to get a natural point until late in the first set, already leading 21-8 when HNU rattled off four straight. Chaminade closed on a 4-1 run to take the opening set.
In the second frame, the 'Swords grabbed an early 10-4 lead but the feisty Hawks went on another 4-0 to close within two. But Chaminade's 6-1 run with two more Corti aces helped them to a two-set advantage.
Holy Names came out in the third set and took a 3-1 lead, its first of the match. The Hawks were in front of the scoreboard as late as 12-11 but a pair of Pe'a kills, another by Saulala and blocks from Corti and
Sophie Schilling (Berlin, Germany/Alaska/Schul- and Leistungsportszentrum Berlin HS) were part of a 5-1 run to put Chaminade ahead. Corti and Saulala would then combine for four 'Swords points which helped put the set and match away.
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis HS) dished out 21 assists and add three kills herself while Schilling had five blocks. Saulala and Corti had three roofs each.
Nanna Inoue (Kula, Maui, Hawai'i/Tyler JC/King Kekaulike HS) had nine digs while Byrnes contributed with eight and Pe'a six.
Chaminade hit .398 in the match with just eight attack errors while holding Holy Names to just .033. The 'Swords had 37 assists to HNU's 19, out-dug them 42-to-28 and compiled eight total team blocks to their two.
The competition will ramp up next week when Chaminade host the conference's four Southern California programs, consecutively. The Silverswords, who last month became just the first non-SoCal team in PacWest history to sweep four matches in that particular trip, opens the stretch against Point Loma on Wednesday. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
