BOX SCORE

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Katy Batchelder turned in another brilliant performance with a career-high 19 digs on defense but Dominican University of California bowed to Grand Canyon University 25-13, 25-17, 25-19 Saturday night in a Pacific West Conference volleyball match at the Conlan Center.

“She played great. She was a true quarterback from the back line,” Head Coach Gayle Stammer said of the Dominican junior. “She has really strong communication skills and she helps the hitters. She played a solid game all the way around. ”

Batchelder's 19 digs topped the career-high 15 she had the night before against Dixie State. She had nine digs in the second set when the Lady Penguins were at their most competitive. For the game, Jessica Jones paced Dominican with 10 kills and Kelsey Lardner had 16 assists and 11 digs.

The Lady Penguins (0-14/0-5) had notable leads in all three sets: 11-9 in the first set, 13-9 in second set and 14-12 in the final set against the 'Lopes (9-6/3-4).

“We need to find a balance in our energy throughout the whole game,” said Stammer.

In the first set, Dominican started strong. Led by service aces from Jones and Moon and four assists from Lardner, the Penguins took the lead and built it to 11-9, forcing Grand Canyon to call timeout. But the Antelopes broke the huddle and proceeded to score eight straight points and 16 of the last 18.

Freshman Samantha Rains started the second set and provided a spark. Dominican trailed 4-3, when Rains scored on one kill to tie the set then, yelling “Me, me, me” on the next pass, drilled another kill to give the Lady Penguins the lead and momentum. Three consecutive blocks by Skyler Moon, a Moon kill, then a Jones kill pushed Dominican in front 12-7.

Rains and Lardner had digs to keep a point alive that put the Lady Penguins on top 13-9. However, the 'Lopes rallied, winning 15 of the next 17 points. In addition to Batchelder's nine digs in that set, Cayla Morphew had seven and Lardner added four.

In the last set, Jones had five of her 10 kills and Batchelder contributed seven more digs.

Dominican gets a chance for revenge on Wednesday, October 12 when Grand Canyon returns to the Conlan Center at 7:00 p.m. The match will be broadcast live online with audio at http://radio.dominican.edu and video at www.dominican.edu/livevideo.