SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – A year ago, the Chaminade University women's volleyball pulled off the biggest upset of the NCAA Division II Tournament as an eighth seed beating the West Region's No. 1 seed.
On Thursday, the Silverswords – now wearing the mantle as the region's top seed – made sure that history didn't repeat itself, sweeping past San Francisco State, 25-20, 25-20, 25-16, at Coussoulis Arena.
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/Univ. of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS) put down a match-high 17 kills, hitting .361, along with 10 digs, two aces and a block to help the 'Swords move on the West Region semifinals for the second straight year. They will face Cal State Los Angeles on Friday at 3 p.m. Hawai'i time in a rematch of last year's West Region final, won by the Golden Eagles in straight sets.
Ajack Malual (Rome, Italy/Tambosi ETI) added another 10 kills and eight digs for Chaminade, which improved to 30-3 on the season, the first 30-win season in program history. The Silverswords also picked up their first-ever victory in Cal State San Bernardino's home floor, having lost their two previous matches there over the years.
Sophie Schilling (Berlin, Germany/Alaska/Schul- and Leistungsportszentrum Berlin HS) and
Lizanyela Lopez (Lima, Peru/Trinity Valley CC/Saco Oliveros HS) combined for 12 kills with no errors and a .631 attack percentage to help the 'Swords hit .337 as a team. Schilling also added three blocks.
Leilani Ama (Spokane, Wash./Mt. Spokane), who on Wednesday was named the AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year, had 34 assists and 10 digs.
Mahala Ka'apuni (Hilo, Hawai'i/Alaska Anchorage/Hilo HS) was a pleasant surprise at the net, recording four total blocks, tying her career high while playing at the University of Alaska Anchorage against her future CUH teammates in August 2021.
Izzy Issak had nine kills for San Francisco State, which ended its season at 18-11.
The Gators, who had taken the 'Swords to five sets in each of the last two meetings including back in early September, forced a 16-all tie midway through the first set before Chaminade scored five of the next six points for a 21-17 lead. SFSU closed to within 21-19 before a pair of Gator errors along with kills from Malual and Corti closed out the first set.
"We started off a bit shaky but I'm really glad we had the opportunity to crisp it up and ended up to my liking," said head coach
Kahala Kabalis Hoke.
Leading 8-6 in the second set, Schilling's kills started a run of four straight points including a delay-of-game yellow card against the Gators' bench, which put the Silverswords up 12-6. SFSU managed to hang around but Chaminade maintained a no less than a three-point lead to take the second set.
In the third set, the 'Swords used a 13-3 surge to basically seal the match.
"We really wanted to push forward and stick together as a team," Crisostomo said. "This whole week, we've saying 'Play as one, play Chaminade volleyball.' And I think that was the guiding motivation to push us through today."
Chaminade held San Francisco State to a .198 attack percentage while amassing 46 kills. The Silverswords had six aces to SFSU's one while their attack limited the Gators to just one team block while getting eight of their own.
"Probably one thing (we need to work on Friday) is adjusting to the gym and the size of the court," Schilling said of playing in the larger Coussoulis Arena. "We play in a smaller gym (at McCabe Gymnasium) so the perception of the ball with serving mistakes and other things is a little bit different."
Friday's match will be shown on NCAA.com on a pay-per-view basis.
