BOX SCORE | PODCAST

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — What should have been a momentum-boosting match headed into Pacific West Conference play turned into a disappointing five-set loss for the Dominican University of California women's volleyball team on Saturday night. The Lady Penguins (2-9) saw a 2-1 lead dissolve into a 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 13-15) loss to visiting William Jessup University (1-14).

The Lady Penguins got off to a slow start, trading points with the Warriors until WJU ran off four straight points to take an 18-14 lead in set one. Dominican answered with three straight points but the Warriors held on to the lead to take the first set.

Dominican turned things around in set two, jumping out to an early 12-5 lead. WJU responded though, going on a nine-point run to take a 14-12 advantage. The teams traded points until 20-20, when three straight Dominican kills combined with a pair of WJU attack errors resulted in Dominican going back out front. A WJU attack error ended the second set and gave Dominican the 25-22 win.

The Dominican women fell behind early again in set three but built the score back to a 15-12 lead. Four consecutive Dominican attack errors and a Hannah Baldwin kill put WJU in front 22-19 but two Hannah Stocking kills sparked a six-point run that was capped off by a Stocking kill and gave the Lady Penguins a 2-1 advantage in the match.

With the match within closing at 12-10, WJU rallied and went on an 11-2 run that shifted the lead, and the momentum, to the Warriors. Dominican notched another three straight points but it was too little, too late as Dominican dropped the fourth set 25-18.

After allowing a kill to begin the final set, Dominican took advantage of a weary WJU team that made three costly errors to pull ahead 6-2. The Warriors rallied again but back-to-back kills by Ria Falealili and Stocking kept WJU at an arm's length. The Warriors tied the match at 9-9 on a Brittany Malone kill but Stocking answered with yet another Dominican kill. A Stocking kill and a Brooke Swingle ace put Dominican ahead 12-11 but WJU refused to quit and scored three straight points. Stocking put down another kill to pull Dominican within 14-13 but the ball hit the tape and rolled back on the Lady Penguins in the game's final play, giving the five-set victory to WJU.

Stocking tallied a career-high 22 kills and posted a .286 hitting percentage. Falealili turned in 14 kills in the loss. Ashlee Sand added a season-high 11 kills in the middle. Swingle dished out 45 assists.

The Dominican women will face Dixie State College, pegged to win the PacWest, on Friday, September 24 and Saturday, September 25. PacWest Commissioner Bob Hogue will be in attendance for the PacWest opener on September 24 to award Dominican their plaques for the PacWest Academic Achievement and Community Engagement Awards. The game is also 80's Night, sponsored by the Penguin Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (PSAAC). Representatives from PSAAC will be collecting donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. First serve on September 24 is at 7:00 p.m. and first serve on September 25 is at 5:30 p.m.