Silverswords sweep through their southern California opponents with a balanced attack that earns them the Team and Player of the Week. A freshman Golden Eagle who was a wall at the net claims the PacWest Defender of the Week honors.

Chaminade’s Greta Corti was her normal all-around dependable self, filling up the stat sheet and is the PacWest Player of the Week, helping her team do the unthinkable—win all four matches against SoCal title-contending teams. Concordia’s Halli Hooks had 16 total blocks in three matches, making hitters on the other side of the net miserable.

2022 Results/Schedule
2022 Standings
2022 Statistics
2022 AVCA National Poll
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chaminade’s Greta Corti, OH, 6-1, Soph., Varese, Italy                                            
Sophomore Greta Corti had a pair of double-doubles and almost had a third in helping her team defeat Point Loma, Concordia and Azusa Pacific on the road (they also topped Biola last Monday). In a wild four-set win over the Cougars, the Italian had 18 kills and 18 digs, hitting .311 in the process. She had 12 kills (.407) and 17 digs in four sets at Point Loma, and added 13 digs and eight kills in three sets at Concordia. The former University of San Francisco transfer and 2021 Second Team All-PacWest selection, leads the Silverswords in service aces (32) and is second in kills per set (2.44) and points (213).

DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: Concordia’s Halli Hooks, MB, 6-4, Fr., Chandler, Ariz.                                            
Freshman middle blocker Halli Hooks continued to be a force at the net for the Golden Eagles during matches last week against the Hawai`i schools. She had 16 total blocks in nine total sets as Concordia went 2-1. The 6-foot-4 middle presence had nine blocks against Hawai`i Hilo, including a pair of solos. She had one solo and five block assists against Hawai`i Pacific. On the season, Hooks leads the PacWest with 1.40 blocks per set.
 
SILVERSWORDS STORM THROUGH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: The PacWest Team of the Week is the Chaminade Silverswords, who had four tough tests in the southland and won them all. In doing so, they became the first team from outside of southern California to sweep all four SoCal opponents. They conquered Concordia in three sets and took four games to finish off Point Loma, Biola and Azusa Pacific. In the road trip finale against the Cougars on Saturday, the ‘Swords battled back after dropping the first set to win two marathon 28-26 games before finally finishing off their hosts in the fourth, 25-21. As it has been all season, Chaminade had a balanced stat line with Sasha Colombo leading the way against Concordia with 14 kills (.378), while Columbo and Greta Corti had 12 kills each and Brooklen Pe`a had 11 against PLNU. Nanna Inoue had 24 digs and two aces against the Sea Lions, and the ‘Swords rode Corti (18K) and Colobo (15K) against the Cougars. Chaminade has now won ten straight matches and 16 consecutive PacWest contests, dating back to last season.

PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: Six teams in the PacWest have winning records, both in conference and overall—Chaminade (13-6/8-0), Fresno Pacific (8-4/7-1), Point Loma (11-4/6-1), Biola (9-7/6-3), Concordia (9-7/6-3), and Azusa Pacific (8-7/5-3)…A look at the AVCA national poll sees Chaminade and Point Loma receiving votes. Other west region teams include (9) Alaska Anchorage, (11) Western Washington, (15) Cal State San Bernardino, (17) Cal Poly Pomona, and (25) Cal State LA…Point Loma players sit atop the stat columns in most cases. Abigail Nua (4.35 kills), Lauren Phillips (10.1 assists) and Courtney Dyer (5.28) lead their columns by a large margin. Aubrea Banfield (APU) paces the aces category (0.73) and Concordia’s Halli Hooks leads in blocks (1.40)…Azusa Pacific’s Annaka Jorgenson had a pair of double-doubles, 20K/14D against Chaminade and 15K/10D verses Hawai`i Pacific…PLNU’s Courthey Dyer kept so many balls alive as usual, which included 31 digs against the ‘Swords…Concordia’s Julia Wilson had 20 and 15 digs…Dominican’s Vanna Marquez had 23 digs against ART U…In that same 5-set match, the Urban Knights Amalie Rupertova had 24 kills and 11 digs, while Maya McClellan added 14 kills and 22 digs…FPU’s Corrine Acosta had two double-doubles—10K/22D against Dominican and 11K/19D versus Holy Names. Against the Penguins, Makena Ogas had 14 kills, 19 digs and two block assists…Kirra Schulz (CUI) put up big numbers in just three sets against UHH with 14 kills (.400) and 15 digs.

LOOKING AHEAD: There are matches every day this week as the southern California schools head to northern California. One key match-up features Point Loma (6-1) at Fresno Pacific (7-1) on Friday. Concordia (6-3) visits the Sunbirds on Saturday. The Hawai`i teams have returned home, where they will face off against each other this weekend.