SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The Chaminade University women's volleyball team got a balanced attack and tallied their highest hitting percentage of the season as they opened their final regular season mainland road trip of the season on Monday with a convincing 25-16, 25-17, 25-9 win over Dominican University of California at the Conlon Center.
The Silverswords hit a season-high .415 – just the 11th time in team history with a .400 percentage or better – with just seven attacking errors while six 'Swords recorded four or more kills, led by eight each from
Lillie Hinton (Spicewood, Texas/Lake Travis) and
Audrah Johnson (Nampa, Idaho/Utah State University/Nampa HS).
Chaminade improved to 14-12 overall and 8-2 in the Pacific West Conference as they inched closer to earning a berth into the first PacWest Championships at home later this month. They also extended their winning streakin the series against the Penguins to 14 straight and against PacWest opponents from the Northern California region to 56 consecutive dating back to 2017.
Beele Wieczorek (Wiesbaden, Germany/Elly-Heuss School) added seven kills with five from both
Maylynn Mitchell (Corona, Calif./Orange Lutheran) and
Alizaysha Sopi (Waianae, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Tennessee State University/Kapolei HS) while
Reina Krueger (Fort Collins, Colo./Liberty Commons) contributed with four.
Krueger and
Tabby Allen (Leander, Texas/Rouse) had three blocks each with
Lilinoe Paschoal (Wailuku, Maui, Hawai'i/Baldwin) and
Allexis Iramina (Honolulu/Moanalua) combined for 30 assists while
Sina Bauer (Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany/Maximillian-von-Montgelas Gymnasium Vilsbiburg) had 10 digs. Mitchell and
Mykelle Brainard (Carlsbad, Calif./Pacific Ridge) had two service aces apiece.
Alexis Schwartz had six kills for Dominican as they fell to 1-21 and 0-8 in the PacWest.
The 'Swords established control early, using an 11-1 run early in the opening set to help them capture the frame.
CUH wasted little time in the next set, scoring eight of the frame's first nine points. The Silverswords led by as many as 11 before DUC closed to within five late in the set. But a Wieczorek kill was sandwiched around aces from Brainard and Iramina to finish the frame for a 2-0 lead.
Chaminade opened the third set with a 6-1 advantage then later went on a 7-0 surge to pull away. They did not commit a hitting error in the frame in 19 attacks and out-scored the Penguins 15-0 in natural points with a perfect sideout percentage of 1.000 (9-of-9).
The 'Swords held the Penguins to a .044 hitting percentage and amassed 41 kills, 40 assists, 45 digs, seven aces and seven total team blocks. Conversely, Dominican had 18 kills, 16 assists, 26 digs, six aces and four blocks.
The Silverswords continue their road trip Wednesday in their final non-conference match at Menlo College. First serve is set for 4 p.m. Hawai'i time.
