BOX SCORE

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Though the Lady Penguins (0-11/0-3) got a lift off the bench from junior Ashlee Sand, Dominican couldn't build on slight leads and sustain momentum in a 25-19, 25-20, 25-18 defeat to Notre Dame de Namur University (2-15/1-6) on Friday night at the Conlan Center.

“That team is bigger than us in a lot of ways at the net and our players have to be extremely resilient and very crafty and smart and they are learning how to be all three of those things,” said Dominican Head Coach Gayle Stammer.

Dominican led 15-12 in the second set and 16-12 in the final set yet the Argonauts were able to rally. Sand had eight kills after coming into the first set and Sarah Bain recorded a team-high 21 assists for the Penguins with Kelsey Lardner adding six. Teammate Seluia "Ria" Falealili tied her season-high with 11 kills and Jessica Jones tied her season-high with 19 digs.

The Lady Penguins trailed throughout the first set, falling behind by seven points six times before Dominican produced its best stretch. Consecutive kills by Falealili, Sand, and Falealili again pulled the Lady Penguins to within four points, 21-18, but they couldn't carry the momentum further. 

Three service errors into the net came back to haunt Dominican as Jones and Falealili combined for nine kills.

Dominican played much better in the second set, led by LaShelle Rullan's eight digs. Sand had a tip and a kill to rally the Penguins to a 12-12, causing the Argonauts to call timeout. That didn't keep Dominican from stealing the momentum as blocks by Jones, Sand, and freshman Samantha Rains at the net netted the Lady Penguins a 15-12 lead.

However, the host team couldn't push its advantage any higher. The Lady Penguins had one last lead, 17-16, on a kill by Sand before Notre Dame de Namur came on strong to score nine of the final 11 points.

Dominican rebounded in the final set. A kill by Falealili put the Lady Penguins in front 10-9 and they mounted a pair of four-point leads on kills by Sand.

NDNU, trailing 16-12, scored seven consecutive points to seize the lead and finished off the game by netting 13 of the last 15 points. It was the 20th consecutive set the Lady Penguins have lost this season.

“I don't think you can totally see the progress, especially when you see the losing,” said Stammer. “Before, where we were losing games with a big difference, we were closing the gap. They have to learn to play smarter volleyball.”

The Lady Penguins have less than 24 hours to rest as they are back in action on Saturday at 5:00 p.m., hosting UC Santa Cruz in non-conference action.