PACWEST VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
IRVINE, Calif. -- In the first week of conference play in the PacWest, the home teams were completely dominant, winning all 11 matches, including 10 three-set sweeps for the hosts.
Chaminade returned home for the first time this season and won all six sets that it played to improve to 8-0 on the season, which is the best start in program history. The Silverswords defeated Notre Dame de Namur and Dominican to continue their hot start.
Azusa Pacific was the preseason favorite and showed why as it moved to the top of the standings with three sweeps, including a convincing performance against the 2016 PacWest Champion Concordia.
Point Loma also earned two wins in the first week of conference play, sweeping Academy of Art and Holy Names to boost its record to 5-4. Hawai`i Pacific won the only match that wasn’t a sweep, edging Notre Dame de Namur in five sets.
Perla Escobar had 15 kills and 14 digs in the victory for HPU.
Dominican and Notre Dame de Namur will wrap up their trips to Hawai`i on Monday night. On Wednesday, Chaminade will try to continue its perfect start as it hosts Hawai`i Pacific. Fresno Pacific will be looking for its first win of the season as the Sunbirds take on UC Santa Cruz and Dominican this week.
On Saturday, Azusa Pacific will host a battle of undefeated teams in conference play when Point Loma goes to Azusa in an early battle for first place.
Weekly awards for the week of Sept. 3-9
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Julianne Miller, Azusa Pacific
MB, Jr., 6-1 -- Rocklin, Calif.
Miller helped Azusa Pacific win all nine sets it played in this week by leading the PacWest in both kills and blocks for the week. Miller’s best performance came against Holy Names, where she recorded 18 kills on 26 attacks with just one error. Against Academy of Art, Miller added another eight kills to go along with nine blocks. She finished the week with a .600 hitting percentage to boost her season percentage to a conference-best .434. Azusa Pacific now leads the standings after the three home wins and Miller has led the team in kills, hitting percentage and blocks.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
Emma Tecklenburg, Chaminade
OH, Jr., 5-11 -- Plano, Texas
Tecklenburg earned her second weekly honor, this time as Defender of the Week, after ranking in the top 10 in the PacWest in digs per set for the week. The junior recorded two double-doubles as she led the Silverswords to a pair of sweeps. She has now recorded at least 10 kills in all eight wins this season. Against Notre Dame de Namur, Tecklenburg recorded 15 kills, 10 digs and a block. She backed that up with a 10-kill, 11-dig double-double against Dominican in an eighth-consecutive win.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Maile Powell, Hawai`i Hilo
S, Fr., 5-10 -- Laguna Hills, Calif.
Powell helped the Vulcans win their PacWest opener on Friday against Dominican with a straight-set victory. The freshman tallied 19 assists in three sets and fired four aces to lead Hawai`i Hilo to its third-consecutive win. Hawai`i Hilo is one of six teams to start conference play undefeated after the first week.