Penguin Radio Podcast

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball gave Chaminade a stiff challenge in the first set but ultimately fell 25-22, 25-14, 25-15 Monday night at the Conlan Center.

Junior opposite Rebecca Smith led the Penguins (1-9, 1-4 PacWest) with six kills on a .333 hitting percentage to go with two blocks. Junior libero Hana Wyles added a match-high 13 digs, while freshman setter Taylor Melchiori led Dominican with 10 assists.

Emma Tecklenburg powered the Silverswords' (10-2, 4-0 PacWest) offense with 13 kills to go with six digs. Annah Rivera added eight kills and three service aces.

The Penguins took advantage of some sloppy play by Chaminade early in the first set in a 3-0 run, but the Silverswords bounced back for a 7-1 run to take the 8-4 lead. Smith and junior outside hitter Catherine Johnson sparked a pair of 3-point runs for Dominican with kills as they refused to go away, tying the match 11-11. The set began to seesaw for several minutes, but Tecklenberg put down a strong kill to spark a 4-0 Chaminade run to take a 21-16 lead. The Penguins closed the gap quickly as Smith combined with freshman middle blocker Kiana Pelton for a block before freshman Edee Leslie found the line on a service ace to make it 21-20 in favor of the Silverswords. It was as close as Dominican would get in the final moments as kills by Alana Handy and Tecklenburg gave Chaminade the bit of breathing room they needed to take the first set.

Rivera sparked the Silverswords in the second set with a kill and a block assist during a 6-1 run. Rachel Reedy then sparked another 6-1 run for Chaminade with a pair of kills as it pushed its lead to 17-8. The lead continued to grow and Tecklenburg ended the set with an ace to give the SIlverswords the 2-0 advantage in the match.

After a 4-0 Chaminade run to open the match, Pelton served up a pair of aces right on the line to get Dominican's momentum headed in the right direction with a 4-point run of their own. Rivera followed up a kill with an ace of her own in a 3-0 run that helped the Silverswords take an 8-5 lead. Alecza Abary then served up two aces and Reedy found the court on two kills to power a 7-0 run to give Chaminade the nine-point lead. Dominican tried to chip away at the lead, but was unable to get closer than six.

The Penguins will host Hawai'i Pacific on Saturday at 7 p.m. PDT at the Conlan Center as the team welcomes in local youth volleyball teams. Live stats and video will be available online.