HONOLULU – Nineteen days after the Chaminade University women's volleyball team stunned Point Loma in their own building, the Sea Lions exacted revenge.
The Silverswords saw their program-record-tying 13-match winning streak halted Wednesday as the Sea Lions dropped them in a 18-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-20 win at McCabe Gymnasium.
The defeat also snapped their Pacific West Conference winning streak at 19 dating back to last season. Chaminade last lost to a conference foe on Oct. 25, 2021 at Biola.
Despite the loss, the Silverswords (16-7 overall) still hold a two-match lead in the PacWest standings at 11-1. Point Loma (14-6) moved into a tie for second with Fresno Pacific with a 9-3 conference mark.
Sasha Colombo (Milan, Italy/Colorado State/Liceo Scientifico Giordano Bruno HS) had a team-high nine kills while
Ajack Malual (Trento, Italy/Tambosi ETI) added eight for the 'Swords who hit just .127 on the night, their lowest attack percentage since Aug. 27.
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) and
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/Univ. of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS) each put down seven kills for Chaminade.
The Sea Lions were paced by Abigail Nua and Torina Hommes who combined for 31 of the team's 57 kills. Nua, a freshman who leads the conference in kills, put down 20 while Hommes had 11 and hit .458.
Conversely, Point Loma hit .234 on the night, the highest attack percentage surrendered by the 'Swords since Sept. 2 against Cal State Los Angeles.
With a large and vocal crowd of 425 on hand, the Silverswords overwhelmed the Sea Lions in the first set, thanks to a 9-0 run. With Colombo serving, she dealed two of her four service aces during the surge and flustered Nua into two reception errors. Colombo's exceptional serving also threw Point Loma out of sync on the attack with the 'Swords getting three team blocks in the set and forcing Nua into two attack errors.
However, Point Loma managed to reverse the trend to open the second set with a pair of aces and forcing four Chaminade hitting errors to take a 9-3 lead. The 'Swords would chip away at the deficit, finally catching the Sea Lions at 19-all. But Point Loma scored four straight late in the set to help even the match.
In the crucial third set, Hommes got two kills and a block as a part of a 5-0 run which put Point Loma up 18-11 and the eventual set win. The Sea Lions hit .429 in the frame, committing just two hitting errors while Chaminade hit just .094. PLNU also amassed five total blocks in the stanza.
With momentum on their side, the Sea Lions opened up an 8-3 advantage in the fourth and had 13 points before the Silverswords got their first natural point which, at that point, they trailed 13-9. Chaminade was down by as many as 22-15, making a small dent in the end and staving off three match points before Izzy Reisinger got her 10th and final kill of the match to send the Sea Lions into a celebratory mode.
Saulala had five total blocks while
Sophie Schilling (Berlin, Germany/Alaska/Schul- and Leistungsportszentrum Berlin HS) had four but Chaminade was still out-blocked 12.0-to-10.5. Point Loma had seven total team blocks in the final two sets to the 'Swords' two.
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis HS) and
Alecza Abary (Fontana, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) combined for 26 assists while
Nanna Inoue (Kula, Maui, Hawai'i/Tyler JC/King Kekaulike HS) had 12 digs for Chaminade, which had 49 as a whole.
The Silverswords will look to rebound Friday as they face Concordia University Irvine at McCabe Gym. The Eagles on Wednesday narrowly averted being upset by Hawai'i Hilo in five sets on the Big Island, outlasting the Vulcans, 21-19, in the final stanza.
First serve is set for 7 p.m. and is being designated as a "Pink Out" match where fans are being encouraged to wear pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
