HONOLULU – The 2025 season for the Chaminade University women's volleyball team was a relative mixed bag.
Heavy personnel losses entering the season resulted in disappointing losses at various stages, resulting in a 16-14 overall record, snapping a streak of six straight 20-win seasons, not including the 2021 spring non-championship year affected by the COVID pandemic. It also resulted in the program missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years.
The team experienced two four-match skids, one to start the season with the other at the midway point. But there were times the youthful 'Swords showed massive potential:
- An eight-match win streak in late September including sweeping the always-daunting Southern California road swing.
- A five-set marathon in front of 2,443 fans at Hawai'i Hilo, the largest crowd to watch a CUH volleyball match.
- Taking a senior-laden and then fifth-ranked Point Loma to five sets.
The season wrapped up with Chaminade hosting the resurrected Pacific West Conference Volleyball Championships with the 'Swords claiming the tournament's No. 3 seed.
Entering the year, the Silverswords had just returning starter in sophomore outside hitter in
Malena Mihalik (Santa Fe, Argentina/San Eugenio), who was lost for the entire month of October with an injury while setter/outside hitter
Leilani Ama (Spokane, Wash./Mt. Spokane) was sidelined for much of the season, leaving the team with no experienced returnees during that stretch.
But it was a pair of returnees who had breakout campaigns for the Silverswords. Right-side hitter
Tabby Allen (Leander, Texas/Rouse) and middle blocker
Reina Krueger (Fort Collins, Colo./Liberty Commons), who played 99 combined sets the previous two years, both played all 116 sets in 2025.
Allen was one of the team's most efficient attackers, hitting at a .278 clip and was a dangerous server with a PacWest-leading 49 service aces. Krueger was among the conference's leaders in hitting percentage at .323 while her 119 total blocks ranks second in program history.
Although
Alizaysha Sopi (Waianae, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Tennessee State University/Kapolei HS) was not a Silversword returnee, her previous experience at Tennessee State helped ease most of the inexperience at a right-side spot with a team-leading 257 kills. Allen, Krueger and Sopi all were named to the All-PacWest Second Team.
The 'Swords also got a boost from senior and three-year reserve setter
Allexis Iramina (Honolulu/Moanalua) who filled in for the injured Ama and set career marks in assists, aces and kills.
Meanwhile, several of the freshmen had outstanding seasons including outside hitter
Lillie Hinton (Spicewood, Texas/Lake Travis), who was named PacWest Freshman of the Year, outside hitter
Audrah Johnson (Nampa, Idaho/Utah State University/Nampa HS), who redshirted a season at Utah State, and setter
Lilinoe Paschoal (Wailuku, Maui, Hawai'i/Baldwin).
"While we got dealt those cards (inexperience and injuries), still, it was within our reach and grasp to be able to finish those games and that's where we have to learn that talent doesn't equate to wins," 14th-year head coach
Kahala Kabalis Hoke said in the post-match press conference following the tournament semifinal defeat to Fresno Pacific. "I know this group is looking at this season at something to bounce back with."
