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November 10, 2007 Seasiders Finish with Sweep
Laie, HI–The Brigham Young University Hawaii women’s volleyball team closed out the season tonight by defeating Chaminade 3-0 in Pacific West Conference action to clinch second place in the conference. The Seasiders, who finish with a 13-9 overall record for the season and a 9-5 mark in the PacWest, took control early in the match and claimed a 30-19, 30-11, 31-29 win over the Silverswords. Playing before a raucous home crowd on senior night, BYU–Hawaii raced out to a 9-3 lead in the first game behind senior outside hitter Noelle Filimoeatu who knocked down three kills during the run. The Silverswords battled back to tie the game at 13-13 but with the score tied again at 16-16 Filimoeatu blasted her fifth kill of the game to ignite a five-point run and the Seasiders pulled steadily away. Game two was tied at 4-4 early on before BYU–Hawaii dominated the rest of the game. Junior middle blocker Faylynn Merrick hammered seven kills in the game to power the Seasiders to the runaway win. Chaminade put up a strong fight in game three, taking a 19-13 lead midway through the game. However, the Seasiders roared back to tie the game at 21-21 on Merrick’s 13th and final kill of the night and then turned things over to Filimoeatu and Agnes Tuilevuka who powered down five kills between them as the Seasiders forged a 30-29 advantage. Merrick and Ane Vea put up a strong block at match point to secure the victory. Merrick led the way for the Seasiders with her 13 kills and five blocks. She also committed no hitting errors and posted a sparkling .619 hitting percentage as BYU–Hawaii out-hit the Silverswords .290 to .113 for the night. Tuilevuka finished up with 11 kills, 12 digs, and three blocks for the Seasiders. Filimoeatu, who finished her BYU–Hawaii career as just the seventh player in school history with over 1,000 kills (1,096), knocked down ten in her final match as a Seasider. She also made 14 digs to end her career with 930 and secure a spot in the top ten all-time at BYU–Hawaii. Keisha Moeai led the Seasiders with 15 digs. Vea put down seven kills to go with three blocks while Tanza Buroker put up four blocks to go with her five kills and errorless .417 hitting percentage. Junior setter LeeAnn Mapu served four aces to go with her 41 assists. Samantha Miller had 12 kills to lead the Silverswords who fell to 15-7 overall and 7-7 in the PacWest. Evelyn Bluthenthal had 11 kills and two blocks while Trina Kauliakamoa and Krista Catian each had 12 digs in the loss for Chaminade. Following the match, Filimoeatu and fellow senior Nyoka Peniata were honored by the Seasiders. Peniata picked up nine digs and three assists in her final match as a Seasider.
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