HONOLULU — Hawai'i Pacific University fell 3-1 to Chaminade in a hard-fought four-set PacWest Conference match on Friday night at McCabe Gym.
 
The Sharks (7-12, 5-6) fell to the Silverswords (10-9, 5-6) 23-25, 20-25, 25-23, 28-30 for HPU's fourth loss in the last five matches.
 
"We were right there in each set," said head coach Jenic Tumaneng. "We just couldn't close it out and that hurts."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
The Sharks hit just .067 for the match, but recorded a season-high 14.0 team blocks. The Silverswords hit .145 with 13.0 team blocks.
 
Junior right side hitter Kayla Demari of Dana Point, Calif./JSerra Catholic, led the Sharks with 11 kills and a season-high eight blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico, added eight kills with four blocks, while junior middle hitter Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial, tallied six kills and nine blocks.
 
Chaminade was paced by Emma Tecklenburg who double-doubled with 22 kills and 10 digs, while Claire Zanon also double-doubled with 10 kills and 23 digs and Brooke Bell tallied 10 kills and nine blocks.
 
The Sharks held leads in each of the four sets of the tight match.
 
The first set had the Sharks up early, before CUH posted a 6-1 run midway through the set to take control. However, the Sharks rallied with a 7-3 run late in the set to pull within 24-23 on a kill by Cameryn Collie. The Swords finished the set on a kill from Kira Long to win 25-23.
 
After a brief lead again in the second set, the Sharks fell behind before a 4-0 run pulled HPU back to 22-20 on a Lea Felton kill. But a Shark service error keyed a 3-0 CUH run to take a 25-20 win.
 
HPU came back strong in the third set, never trailing. The set saw HPU use an 8-2 run to open up an eight-point lead. The Swords followed with a 5-0 run, only to have HPU counter with a 4-0 run. Still the Swords came back, down 21-14 with a 9-3 run to pull within a point at 24-23 before HPU ended the set with a Demari kill.
 
The fourth set was a classic featuring 15 ties and 10 lead changes. It was also a heartbreaker for the Sharks.
 
After battling to a 17-all tie, the Sharks got a 3-0 run to lead 20-17 and traded points to grab a 21-18 advantage. The Silverswords followed with a 5-0 run to take a 23-21 lead.
 
That's when it got interesting. HPU got a kill from Escobar and a double-block from Felton and Chandler Lippincott to tie the set at 23. After CUH scored for a 24-23 lead and serving set point, HPU answered with a double-block from Felton and Escobar and a Sword attack error to go up 25-24. The teams traded two-point swings until HPU led 28-27 on a kill by Demari.
 
Chaminade came back with the last three points including an ace from Tecklenburg to with the set and match 30-28.
 
HPU doesn't have long to dwell on the defeat, as the Sharks return home to St. Andrew's Priory on Saturday night to meet Dominican (Calif.) in a PacWest match at 7 p.m.