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SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's volleyball team had a tough draw in Dixie State College, predicted to top the conference, as the Lady Penguins opened up Pacific West Conference play with a three-set loss (13-25, 23-25, 23-25) on Friday night at the Conlan Center.

The Lady Penguins (2-10/0-1) got off to a slow start and the Red Storm (6-3/1-0 took advantage, opening the first set with a 14-4 run en route to the 25-13 victory.

The Lady Penguins played much more consistent in set two and jumped out to a 12-9 lead before Dixie State rallied back with six straight points to go ahead 15-12. Dominican tied it right back at 15-15 but two consecutive Dominican attack errors resulted in a four-point swing by the Red Storm. Dominican pulled within 23-22 but the Lady Penguins made a pair of costly errors to drop the set 25-23.

Dixie State jumped out to another early lead in set three, ticking off 10 straight points to go ahead 14-6. Dominican made a nice run at the end, taking advantage of seven Dixie State attack errors, posting 11 straight points to tie the match at 22-22. The Red Storm regained its exposure though and scored three of the last four points to take the set 25-23 and the match.

Dixie State was led by Melissa Fifita and Madisyn Fitzgerald, who each had eight kills on the night.

Hannah Stocking led the Lady Penguins in hitting for the second straight match, tallying seven kills on Friday night. Ria Falealili added half a dozen kills and 11 digs and Ashlee Sand added five kills in the loss. LaShelle Rullan led Dominican with four service aces and a dozen digs.

The two teams are right back at it on Saturday, September 25. First serve is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Conlan Center.