HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University women's volleyball opened PacWest Conference play Thursday night at the HPU Shark Tank, falling to Chaminade in straight sets, 15-25, 15-25, 17-25.
The loss moved HPU to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in PacWest play, while Chaminade improved to 7-4 overall and 1-0 in conference action.
HPU opened the match with back-to-back kills from Sophia Cooper to take an early 2-0 lead. The teams remained close through the middle of the opening set, with the Sharks pulling within 14-13 following a kill from Chayse Hoon. Chaminade responded with a 9-1 run to take a 23-14 advantage before closing the set 25-15.
The second set was tied four times early before Chaminade began to separate. HPU trailed 9-8 following a kill from Ella Schoene, but the Silverswords answered with seven consecutive points to extend the margin to 16-9. The Sharks later picked up kills from Hoon and Ella Snobar before Chaminade secured another 25-15 set.
HPU produced its best start of the night in the third. A Lauren Harris service ace and kills from Schoene and Cooper helped the Sharks build a 5-2 advantage. The teams went back and forth from there, with the set tied at 6-6, 7-7 and 8-8 before Chaminade moved ahead. HPU remained within three at 16-13, but the Silverswords pulled away late for the 25-17 win.
Cooper and Hoon led the Sharks with seven kills apiece. Hoon added two block assists, while Cooper finished with four digs and a block assist. Schoene recorded five kills on a .250 hitting percentage and contributed three block assists.
Jordyn McCutcheon finished with 10 assists and a team-high seven digs, while Harris also handed out 10 assists and recorded four digs along with HPU's lone service ace. Taylor Kaoihana and Mayah Nakasato added six and seven digs, respectively.
HPU finished the match with 27 kills, 25 assists, 40 digs and five total blocks. Chaminade recorded 45 kills while hitting .312 for the match.
