Annah Rivera kill, UH-Hilo attack error, Nina Torio ace, Alana Handy kill.
Just four points, but they were the final four points to put Chaminade over the top in an intense five-set volleyball match Saturday night at the Vulcans’ gym.
Rivera led a balanced attack with 15 kills and five aces and the Silverswords pulled through, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 15-11 in front of a spirited crowd of 877.
“It was a close match, but Chaminade edged us in the areas of serving and passing,” UHH coach Chris Leonard said in a school release. “Credit to them, good teams find a way to beat you and they did just that at the end.
UHH (5-4, 0-1 Pacific West Conference) was led by Bria Beale’s 15 kills and Alexandria Parisian’s 12. Amber Tai had three service aces, Kaila Lizama had 17 digs and Emily Wade had two solo blocks and four assisted.
In the fifth set, the Vuls, broke out to a 3-0 on two Lizama aces, but the Silverswords (8-2, 2-0) came back to take a 6-5 lead. There were five ties after that, all the way to 11-11 and an ensuing Chaminade timeout.
Rivera pounded a kill (12-11), followed by a Vulcan attack error, a Chaminade ace by Nina Torio (14-11) and the final kill by Handy—who literally had just checked into the match for the first time.
The Vulcans will have a short turnaround. They will take on Hawaii Pacific at 3 p.m. at their gym.
”HPU is a good, balanced team, and we will have to be ready,” Leonard added. “A short memory is a good thing to have in this game, and this is a good example of that.”
