HONOLULU — The PacWest Conference champion Chaminade women’s volleyball team will make its fifth all-time NCAA Division II tournament appearance this week.
Chaminade (24-7, 19-1 PWC), the eighth and final team in the NCAA II West Region, faces the West’s top seed in Alaska Anchorage (27-2) in the first round on Thursday at Western Washington’s Carver Gymnasium. First serve is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Hawaii time.
During the Silverswords’ eight-match winning streak to close out the PacWest season, including the last four in California, Kahala Kabalis Hoke became the program’s all-time winningest coach and stands at 182 victories. The Silversword alumna has either played or coached in all of Chaminade’s NCAA appearances (2002, 2004, 2018, 2021, 2022).
Chaminade has four players averaging at least 2.0 kills per set: Sasha Colombo, Greta Corti, Brooklen Pe‘a and Lataisia Saulala. Corti and Colombo are from Italy. Saulala, of Morgan Hill, Calif., averages better than a block per set.
Setter Alexia Byrnes, a fifth-year senior from Chicago, has started all 31 matches.
The Silverswords encountered Alaska Anchorage of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in the second match of the season, falling in straight sets.
However, they were perfect in 10 conference road matches for the first time in the program’s 39-year history.
The winner between Chaminade and Anchorage will play the winner of Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino on Friday and the regional championship is Saturday. Its winner heads to the overall NCAA championships in Seattle.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.