HONOLULU – Led by the tandem of senior Pomai Recca and freshman Perla Escobar, Hawai'i Pacific University opened Pacific West Conference play with a 3-1 triumph at city rival Chaminade on Saturday night at McCabe Gym.
 
The Sharks (5-5, 1-0) won the tight affair over the Silverswords (6-4, 0-1) 25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21. The four-point final in the fourth set also equaled the largest lead held by either team at one time.
 
"I'm so proud of our team," said HPU coach Jenic Tumaneng. "They kept their composure in a very close match against Chaminade. We made the right decisions when it counted."
 
Recca, the senior outside hitter, led the Sharks 17 kills and notched 13 digs for a double-double. She also equaled the team lead with four blocks.
 
Escobar, a freshman outside hitter, tallied 14 kills including seven in the deciding set. She also chalked up 15 digs for a double-double and added three blocks.
 
Carson Pyle and Lea Felton also put up four blocks as the Sharks netted 10.0 team blocks for the match while hitting .210 for the match.
 
Chaminade got 16 kills from Daisha LaBrie with six blocks. Kim Spring double-doubled with 11 kills and 10 digs, while Kira Long added 10 kills.  The Swords hit .168 as a team, with 9.5 team blocks.
 
The Sharks battled through each of the sets in the back and forth match.
 
HPU took the final two points in the first set after seeing the lead trimed to 23-22.
 
Set two found the teams knotted at 23 before Recca closed the set with a pair of kills.
 
The Silverswords battled back from a four-point deficit to tie the third set at 23-all, then took the set on a kill by LaBrie and an assisted block by LaBrie and Cassie Rushlow.
 
The fourth set saw seven ties and four lead changes before the lead for good 17-16 on a Recca kill.  Chaminade got close again at 22-21 before HPU went on another 3-0 run capped by Alison McCullom's kill to win the match.
 
Hawai'i Pacific travels to the Big Island for its next match on Wednesday, when they visit Hawai'i-Hilo at 7 p.m.
 
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