Box Score
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MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Seattle Pacific Falcons were hoping to get even with Chaminade.
 
But they just couldn't get out of the hole.
 
The Silverswords jumped to early leads in all three games on Thursday afternoon, and went on to sweep SPU in the opening match of the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase.
 
Scores in the New P.E. Building at Western Oregon University were 25-19, 25-22, 25-14.
 
Chaminade (3-2) thus made it 2-for-2 in preseason matches against the Falcons (2-3). At last week's Hawaii Challenge in Honolulu, the Swords were down 2 games to 1, but came back to pull out a five-game victory.
 
"Credit to them – they even looked better than last week," Falcons head coach Abbie Wright said of their Hawaiian counterparts. "They're definitely improving a lot, and we kind of had an off day. They made adjustments, and were a little more physical faster than we were. We talk about how it's about the process. … We'll learn from it."
 
The Swords went on a 5-0 run to build a 12-5 lead in the opening game. They had strings of four straight and three straight points on the way to a 13-8 advantage in Game 2, then raced to a 7-2 lead in Game 3.
 
"We came out a little bit tentative," Wright said. "Now that we know what that feels like, that's going to help us – like, 'OK, let's reverse this feeling a little bit.' "
 
The Falcons did get back on track through portions of all three games, and were able to climb back into it.

 

Some solid serving by seniors Colleen Hannigan (Brentwood, Calif.) and Hannah Lautenbach (Portland, Ore.) sparked a 6-1 run to cut a 16-9 deficit to 17-15. The two combined for three aces during that stretch – one by Hannigan, and two straight by Lautenbach.
 
But Chaminade rang up five of the next six points to take charge again at 22-16.
 
SPU put four straight points on the board in the middle of Game 2, trimming an 18-13 gap to 18-17. In that one, senior Sophie Kuehl (Vancouver, Wash.) had a three-point serving run. But again, the Silverswords answered, this time with three on a row.
 
In the third game, Seattle Pacific got as close at 8-7, then saw Chaminade stretch it out to a seven-point advantage at 16-9.
 
"We've just got to play to win a little bit better, a little bit sooner, and a little more confident," Wright said. "They were able to outlast us. It was kind of who could make a run faster."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
-- Hannigan, sophomore Gabby Oddo (Alta Loma, Calif.) and freshman Gabi Stegemoller (West Linn, Ore.) had five kills apiece for SPU. Stegemoller's total was a career high, beating the four she had last Saturday against Nebraska Kearney in Honolulu.
-- The Falcons had just 30 kills altogether. Chaminade finished with 44, led by Emma Tecklenburg's 11.
-- Hannigan's fifth and final kill was the 200th of her career.

-- Junior setter Symone Tran (Portland, Ore.), in addition to her 19 assists, had four kills of her own and hit .800 for the day, with no errors on her five attacks. She also had two service aces.
-- The Falcons had a season-high seven aces. Kuehl joined Tran and Lautenbach with two each.
-- SPU hit just.090 for the match (30 kills-20 errors-111 attacks). Chaminade finished at .365 (44-9-96).
-- Junior libero Amanda Ganete (Hillsboro, Ore.) set the pace with 11 digs.
 
UP NEXT
Seattle Pacific plays two matches on Friday, facing Cal State East Bay at 10:00 a.m. and Fresno Pacific at 5:30 p.m. The tournament concludes on Saturday with a match against Cal State San Marcos at 3:30 p.m.
 
 
NCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
D2 West Region Showcase
Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017
New P.E. Building / Monmouth, Ore.
 
Chaminade 3, Seattle Pacific 0
 
Game scores – 25-19, 25-22, 25-14.
 
Service aces – Cham 4 (Danielle Wiley 2, Claire Zanon 2), SPU 7 (Hannah Lautenbach 2, Symone Tran 2, Sophie Kuehl 2).
Kills – Cham 44 (Emma Tecklenburg 11), SPU 30 (Colleen Hannigan 5, Gabi Stegemoller 5, Gabby Oddo 5).
Assists – Cham 40 (Skyler Curry 22), SPU 27 (Tran 19).
Digs – Cham 53 (Zanon 14), SPU 38 (Amanda Ganete 15).
Block assists / solo – Cham 4 / 2 solo (Brooke Bell 1 / 1 solo, Terezie Cernosek 1 / 1 solo), SPU 4 / 1 solo (Lautenbach 2 / 0 solo).
Hitting (kills-errors-attacks) – Cham 44-9-96--.365 (Cernosek 7-0-11--.636), SPU 30-20-111--.090 (Tran 4-0-5--.800).
 
Attendance – 75.
 
Records – Seattle Pacific 2-3, Chaminade 3-2.
 
Next match
Seattle Pacific vs. Cal State East Bay
Friday, Sept. 8, 10:00 a.m.
New P.E. Building / Monmouth, Ore.