IRVINE, Calif. – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team placed eight members of their Pacific West Conference championship squad to the All-PacWest Teams announced Tuesday in voting conducted by the conference coaches.
In addition, three of them earned the conference's individual awards, headlined by senior
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis HS) who was voted as the Player of the Year. She also was selected as the Setter of the Year for the second straight season.
Byrnes averaged 7.16 assists per set and was fifth in the conference in service aces with a 0.43 average in helping the Silverswords win their second straight PacWest title for the first time in program history. Byrnes distributed the attack among six attackers who all averaged between 2.62 and 1.38 kills per set. She even called her own number on occasion with 97 kills while hitting at a .340 clip.
Sasha Colombo (Milan, Italy/Colorado State/Liceo Scientifico Giordano Bruno HS) was honored as the Newcomer of the Year. In her only season at Chaminade, the graduate transfer from Colorado State was the team's leading attacker at 2.62 kills per set and was fifth in hitting percentage at .308. She also had 71 total blocks and 30 aces.
For the second straight season,
Kahala Kabalis Hoke was voted as the Coach of the Year. The Hilo native has guided the programs to four consecutive 20-win championships seasons (excluding spring 2021 when no NCAA championships were held) after having just one such season prior to her hiring in 2012. On Nov. 9, Kabalis Hoke became the program's all-time winningest coach and has a record of 182-118. The Silverswords' .950 conference winning percentage is the best since the 2017 California Baptist team went an undefeated 20-0. Chaminade also posted a service aces per set average of 2.45, which is sixth in NCAA Division II.
Point Loma took home the other two awards with Abigail Nua earning Freshman of the Year and Courtney Dyer the Libero of the Year.
Byrnes and Colombo were also named to the All-PacWest First Team. Joining them on the list is
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/Univ. of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS),
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) and
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood).
Corti did just about everything for the 'Swords, leading them in aces (0.48) while finishing the regular season second in kills (2.30) and digs (3.07) per set and fifth in total blocks (37). It is her second all-conference honor after being named to the second team last year.
Pe'a earned her third All-PacWest honor after posting another solid season, averaging 2.13 kills and 2.24 digs per set while adding 23 aces and 40 total blocks. The senior was one of three 'Swords who played in all 108 sets this season.
It is also the third all-PacWest honor for Saulala, a second-team honoree in 2019 and 2021. The senior is second in the conference in attack percentage at .330 and third in blocks at 1.01 per set. Earlier this season, Saulala broke the school's all-time blocks record and has 371 in her career.
All-PacWest Second Team kudos went to
Ajack Malual (Trento, Italy/Tambosi ETI) and
Sophie Schilling (Berlin, Germany/Alaska/Schul- and Leistungsportszentrum Berlin HS).
Malual showed off her powerful left arm to a 2.00 kills per set average with 28 blocks. The freshman came on strong at the end of the regular season with 49 kills and a .468 attack percentage in her last five matches.
Schilling, a transfer from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, enjoyed a 1.38 kills and 0.83 blocks per set season, the latter being the second highest on the team.
The Silverswords are in Bellingham, Washington, this week and are the No. 8 seed in the NCAA West Regional. They open against top seed Alaska Anchorage on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Hawai'i time.
