BOX SCORES: vs. Chico State | @ #3 Cal State San Bernardino

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. —  It was a learning experience against imposing lineups for the Dominican University of California women's volleyball team in the eight-team Coyote Labor Day Classic at Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday.

The Lady Penguins got a first-hand look at what it takes to win.

In the first match of the day, the Penguins lost 25-14, 25-17, 25-18 to Chico State (2-1) which last season beat eventual Pacific West Conference champion BYU-Hawaii in the preseason. Starting libero Katy Batchelder had 12 digs for Dominican.

In the second match, the Penguins (0-4) were beaten 25-6, 25-9, 25-19 by the tournament host team, Cal State San Bernardino (3-0), which played in the Final Four of the NCAA Div. II tournament last season and is currently ranked No. 3 in the country.

“They were monsters. I think we probably should have brought our [football] helmets,” said Dominican Head Coach Gayle Stammer. “We did some really good things defensively and offensively but you've got to learn to hit against the big blockers and make plays.”

Against Chico State, the Lady Penguins had brief early leads in all three sets. They led 3-2 on a kill by Lauren Clark in the first set before the Wildcats scored six straight points. They led 2-1 in the third set on a kill by freshman Samantha Rains. And they had a 1-0 advantage in the middle set, which was Dominican's best sustained effort of the match.

They rallied to tie Chico State six times in that set beginning with service aces by Batchelder and Clark followed by kills by Rains, Skyler Moon, and Clark. Clark's point made it 16-16.

Against  Cal State San Bernardino, the Lady Penguins had a 2-0 lead in the second set on a tandem block by Clark and Rains but the Coyotes scored 25 of the set's final 32 points.

Dominican was much more competitive in the final set. They trailed 7-2 but rallied to tie the set 10-10 on a kill by junior Sarah Bain off a set by Rains.

The Lady Penguins return to the court on Tuesday, September 6 when they play Central Washington University at San Francisco State starting at 3:30 p.m.