Box Score HONOLULU, Hawaii - The Daemen College women's volleyball team fell to Chaminade University 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 9-25, 21-25) in the team's final match of five at the East-West Challenge on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The loss drops the Wildcats' record to 0-5 on the season while the Silverswords improved to 3-0.
After a hard fought five-point defeat in the first set, the Wildcats battled back to win the second set 25-22. However, Chaminade would take the next two sets, and the match. Kira Long, Valentin Bevilacqua and Natashya Enos led the charge for the Silverswords. Long had 11 kills, Bevilacqua had 21 assists, and Enos posted 12 digs - all team-highs.
Daemen's efforts were led by
Amber Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster) who had 16 kills,
Katie McKrell (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) with 28 assists and
Chelsea Turcer (Alexander, N.Y./Alexander Central) who added 14 digs.
Chaminade came out strong in the opening set taking a 6-0 lead but the Wildcats battled back within five points (23-18) after a service ace from McKrell. Daemen could not jump ahead as the Silverswords took the first set 25-20.
The Wildcats started off with a 3-0 lead in the second set and later found themselves up 16-11 after a kill from freshman
Jenna Reeser (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home) but Chaminade did not give up. The hosts fought back to tie the match 19-19, but Daemen held on, winning the set 25-22.
Daemen stayed with Chaminade in the beginning of the third set as they only trailed by one point early on (5-4). but the Silverswords rattled off eight straight points to establish a 13-4 lead. The Wildcats would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way as the Silverswords took control and didn't look back taking, the set 25-9. Even though the Wildcats trailed during the fourth and final set, they battled hard, falling 25-21.
The Wildcats' match against Chaminade was their final contest of the East-West Challenge. Daemen make the long trek back to Buffalo before taking part in the Eckerd College Classic in St. Petersburg, Fla. next weekend. Their first match of the tourney will come against Queens University of Charlotte on Sept. 12. at 3 p.m. Look for a full tournament preview at wildcats.daemen.edu later this week.
