Nationally ranked Chaminade waltzes past Hawai’i Pacific in four sets 

HONOLULU – Keep on keeping on. 

The Hawai’i Pacific University women’s volleyball team fell at home in four sets (25-23, 25-16, 25-11, 25-18) against No. 10 Chaminade (16-4, 9-0 PacWest) on Friday night, taking the first set against the Silverswords before dropping the next three for the Sharks’ sixth consecutive loss. Chaminade graduate setter Grace Talpash earned “Timmy T’s Grinder of the Game” honors after tallying 30 assists and seven digs in the victory for the Silverswords. 

Graduate student Grace Talpash sets up a teammate for an attack during Chaminade’s 4-set win at Hawai’i Pacific. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HPU (1-15, 1-9 PacWest) started strong by taking the opening frame, 25-23, behind a .321 hitting percentage and only three errors as a unit. Chaminade committed nine errors in the first set, helping the Sharks snap a 16-set losing streak to the Swords that had been going for the better part of three years.  

The Silverswords looked closer to the nationally notable form they have shown this year in the second set, scoring 12 of the final 17 points in the frame to knot the match at one apiece. 

It was more of the same in the third set for Chaminade, hitting .435 as a team while dominating the Sharks in the stanza with a 25-11 victory to take a 2-1 set lead. 

Hawai’i Pacific showed some grit and toughness in the fourth and final set before finally dropping the frame, 25-18. Chaminade displayed defensive chops in the stanza with a run of five blocks in six points, though HPU closed out the set scoring four of the final six points of the match. 

The Sharks were led by Ella Schoene’s eight kills on 14 swings as the sophomore committed one single error across her four sets of action, adding a team-high four block assists for the hosts. Marley Sandoval added eight kills of her own on 26 attempts, committing eight hitting errors on the night as well. 

Chaminade returns to action on Saturday night against UH-Hilo, looking to remain unbeaten in PacWest play. HPU will play host to the Vulcans on the following day, seeing UH-Hilo visit the Shark Tank for a 2:00 p.m. match on Sunday.