BOX SCORE

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — In front of an enthusiastic home crowd for the first time this season, the Dominican University of California volleyball team on Saturday night was primed and pumped to deliver its first win.

The Lady Penguins didn't serve well at all.

Holy Names, which last season was unbeaten in the California Pacific Conference and played in the NAIA national tournament for first time in program's history, came into the Conlan Center and handed Dominican a straight set 25-23, 25-18, 25-21 defeat. The Lady Penguins (0-6), despite some outstanding individual digs by the likes of LaShelle Rullan, Jessica Jones, Seluia "Ria" Falealili, and Samantha Rains, never was able to seize any momentum against the Hawks (2-8) because the Lady Penguins had trouble all evening making serves and handling them.

“Let me put it this way: We made more errors on serving and serve received than the other team and you can't win volleyball if you do that,” said Dominican Head Coach Gayle Stammer. “Are we a good serving team? Yes. Are we a good passing team? Yes. But not tonight.”

Dominican started strong enough. The Lady Penguins led most of the opening set, building a 15-13 cushion before the Hawks came back. Holy Names forged in front 20-16, yet the Lady Penguins tried valiantly to push back into the contest. Kills by Falealili, Rains, and Jones helped Dominican three times pull within a point of tying the set, bringing a pro-Penguins crowd to its feet.

Chilly, Dominican's mascot, was dancing and four Dominican University of California fans spelled out “GO DU” on their chests. They were begging to cheer louder.

“I thought it was a great crowd,” Stammer said. “It was really exciting.”

Unfortunately, the Lady Penguins couldn't sustain the excitement for long. Their problems with serving continued in the second set. They fell behind early and whenever they appeared to be in position to muster some momentum, their serves failed them. Dominican had seven service errors in the second set when Rains and Jones had six kills apiece.

In the third set, a Cayla Morphew ace helped launch Dominican to a 7-2 lead, though the Lady Penguins lost Hannah Stocking to a left ankle injury in the process. However, Holy Names (2-8) tallied 13 of their next 15 points, causing the Lady Penguins to climb out of a hole again.

Dominican did manage to stage one last rally, scoring four consecutive points to close within 20-19, forcing the Hawks to call their first timeout of the night. The Lady Penguins just didn't have enough to get over the proverbial hump.

“They're tired of losing but you have to learn how to win. We're in the process of that,” said Stammer. “I saw some amazing digs out there tonight and I saw some amazing plays. It's about putting it all together. It's fun to watch but we've got work to do.”

“Honestly, I don't what it was or what it is. These kids need to learn how to step up and win,” Stammer said. “We'll hit the gym next week and we have some ideas of what we need to work on, both emotionally and physically, and we'll take it up another notch.”

The Lady Penguins, who return to Conlan Center on Wednesday, September 14 at 7:00 p.m. to host NAIA Menlo College in a non-conference match, huddled after the Holy Names loss and tried to sort out their serving and serve receiving woes.