HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University gave No. 21 Chaminade all it wanted but the nationally ranked ended up on top in an epic four-set battle on Friday night at The Shark Tank.
 
The Sharks (1-8, 0-1) fell to the Silverswords (11-2, 1-0) 27-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22 as both teams opened PacWest Conference play with the two-hour match.
 
The contest was a block-fest for both teams, as HPU recorded 10.0 team blocks, while CUH tallied 12.0. The Sharks hit .086 as a team, while the Swords hit .123 in the four-set affair.
 
HPU was paced by the play of sophomore Ella Dotson of Tucson, Ariz./Marana, who double-doubled with 14 kills and 13 digs, while senior Lauren Christie of Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon added 12 kills. Junior Demi Winters of Gresham, Ore./Barlow recorded seven blocks.
 
The Swords were led by Marcelle Butler with 18 kills along with five blocks, while Annah Rivera double-doubled with 10 kills and 16 digs. Lataisia Saulala had nine kills with a match-best eight blocks.
 
The match was a rock 'em, sock 'em affair, that featured a combined 44 ties and 23 lead changes during the two hour, two minute contest.
 
HPU battled the nationally-ranked Swords in every set, starting with the first where the Sharks battled from a deficit to take a match-point 24-23 lead after an attack error by the Swords. But after a timeout, CUH evened the set. HPU fought off one Sword set point, but not a second as CUH claimed the 27-25 win.
 
The second set was another dogfight, with the Sharks and Swords exchanging the lead until 19-19. That's when CUH rattled off a 4-0 run for a 23-19 lead. HPU came back with a 4-1 run of its own and fought off a set point before the Swords pulled out the 25-23 win.
 
HPU came back from an early three-point deficit in the third set, then used a 6-1 run late take a strong 19-16 lead. The Swords came back to even the score at 22-all, but a CUH service error and a pair of Dotson kills gave the Sharks the second set 25-22.
 
The fourth set was more of the same, with the score even at 21-all and 22-all. That's when an HPU attack error started 3-0 run and when a Dotson attack was blocked, the Swords claimed a 25-22 win in the set and the match 3-1.
 
HPU has a day off before hosting Hawai'i Hilo on Sunday afternoon in PacWest play at The Shark Tank. The match is set for 2 p.m.