Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SEASIDE, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's volleyball team notched its first victory of the year, a 3-2 (27-25, 25-21, 19-25, 24-26, 15-10) nailbiter over Saint Martin's University, to open the season with a split in the first day of the Otter Classic.

"Kelsey Lardner played smart and executed our game plan today," said Head Coach Gayle Stammer. "We shook off some of the first-game jitters in our first match but we were able to bounce back quickly. We found our hitters and kept the ball off the floor."

Lardner's efficiency resulted in a career-high 54 assists and the senior connected with several new faces, who showed their immediate influence on the program. Freshman Susanna Pilkerton and transfer Amanda Wasko led the offensive charge with 14 kills apiece, with Wasko also making 14 digs.

A 6-0 run in the first set put Dominican (1-1) in front, 14-10. Saint Martin's made a run of its own to tie the match at 18 and took the lead 25-24. Freshman Susanna Pilkerton recorded a kill, then SMU made two errors to give Dominican the early 1-0 advantage.

Dominican dug itself out of a 5-0 hole in the second set with strong swinging from transfer Amanda Wasko and three more from Pilkerton.

Set three saw no larger than a three-point lead and SMU (0-2) held on to force a fourth set. The Saints then pushed the match to a fifth and decisive set thanks to timely hitting by Carrie Starbuck.

Wasko, Samantha Rains, and Jessica Jones led off the final set with kills for a 3-0 lead, then a Hannah Stocking-Siagkris kill extended the lead to 6-1. Two kills from transfer Megan Callen made it 11-6 and four SMU errors late gave Dominican the 15-10 victory and the match.

Sophomore Sari Kwan picked up where she left off last season, anchoring Dominican's defense with 29 digs and a pair of service aces. Freshman Amanda Lee dug out 19 balls while Lardner put together an all-around effort with 15. Rains added 13 kills and Jones tallied eight against SMU.

Dominican dropped its first game of day, 3-1 (14-25, 16-25, 25-22, 14-25), to host Cal State Monterey Bay (1-0). Attack errors led to wide margins and an early 2-0 deficit. Dominican took the third set thanks in part to an 8-3 run and three kills by Rains. Jones notched eight kills in the match and Kwan made 18 digs.

The Penguins are at it early on Saturday, Sept. 7, in day two of the Otter Classic. They'll face San Francisco State at 9:00 a.m. Live coverage is available here.