HONOLULU – Back home for the first time after a historic road sweep in Southern California, the Chaminade University women's volleyball team returned to the friendly confines of McCabe Gymnasium on Sunday to begin their final eight-match home stand.
With more than half of the spirited crowd of 436 represented by the Ka Ulukoa Volleyball Institute – the most at a McCabe Gym volleyball match since 2010 – the Silverswords were welcomed back by sweeping in-state rival University of Hawai'i Hilo, 25-20, 25-18, 25-19.
Sasha Colombo (Milan, Italy/Colorado State/Liceo Scientifico Giordano Bruno HS) put down a match-high 11 kills while hitting .526 to help the Silverswords extend their winning streak to 11 straight – the second longest in school history – and improving them to 14-6 overall and remain the only Pacific West Conference squad without a conference loss at 9-0.
Chaminade also won its 17th consecutive PacWest match, dating back to last season. The 'Swords last defeat to a conference opponent was at Biola on Oct. 26, 2021.
Four other Chaminade attackers had five or more kills, with
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/Univ. of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS) leading the pack with eight.
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) and
Ajack Malual (Trento, Italy/Tambosi ETI) each had six while
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood) put down five.
And spreading the wealth were setters
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis HS) and
Alecza Abary (Fontana, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga). Byrnes had 23 assists on the afternoon while Abary had eight.
Chaminade out-blocked the Vulcans, 11-to-2 with Saulala getting five as did
Sophie Schilling (Berlin, Germany/Alaska/Schul- and Leistungsportszentrum Berlin HS), the latter contributing with three kills.
The Silverswords also had 10 service aces with
Nanna Inoue (Kula, Maui, Hawai'i/Tyler JC/King Kekaulike HS) dealing four.
UH Hilo (1-15, 1-9 PacWest) were led by Samara Cruz's nine kills.
Neither team was able to establish separation in the first set with Chaminade's largest lead being three (10-7) while UH Hilo was able to four one-point leads. The 'Swords began pulling away thanks to a 4-0 run which put them up 19-14 and eventually the opening set win.
The second set was quite the opposite with the Silverswords opening up a 13-5 lead. UH Hilo was able to make a small dent in the lead towards the end before Colombo closed it out with a kill at set point.
Like the opening stanza, the start of the third was closely contested with the Vulcans leading most of the beginning. However, a 5-0 'Swords run aided by two Colombo kills, another from Pe'a and a Corti ace gave them a 15-11 margin. UH Hilo was not able to get a natural point until Chaminade was up 22-18. Fittingly, the match ended on an ace from Inoue.
The Silverswords hit .298 on the afternoon and limited the Vulcans to .119. They also had 43 digs with Inoue scooping up nine and Corti getting eight.
The win over their island rivals also gave them six points in the PacWest Hawai'i Challenge to guarantee in taking the volleyball portion for the second straight year.
The Silverswords return to action Wednesday when they face Dominican University of California at McCabe Gym. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
