HONOLULU, Hawai'i — The Dominican University of California women's volleyball team was unable to sustain an early lead at Hawai'i Pacific on Saturday night in a 3-1 (18-25, 25-14, 25-12, 25-15) Pacific West Conference loss.

Down 12-6 early, the Penguins grabbed the momentum with a 12-1 run to grab an 18-13 lead and set the team up for the 25-18 set one victory. However, HPU responded by opening set two with a 10-3 run and breezed to a 25-14 victory to even the match. In set three, HPU took control from the beginning and led 19-5. The Penguins matched the Sharks point-for-point the rest of the set but it wasn't enough to catch up. Set four was more of the same, with large scoring spurts by the Sharks.

The Penguins committed numerous errors, hitting just .090 for the match with 25 attack errors and 10 service errors. Conversely, Pomai Recca and Elizabeth Culpepper were hard to stop, posting 16 and 13 kills, respectively, for the Sharks. HPU posted a .322 attack percentage and hit. 476 and .483 in sets two and three. HPU also had 63 digs compared to 47 by the Penguins.

Aimee Steinwand led Dominican with 10 kills and three service aces. Shannon RiggioKerley added nine digs, followed by eight from Amanda Lee.

Dominican wraps up its three-match trip through Hawai'i on Sunday at Chaminade. The Penguins will look to position themselves for a move up the standings. A win against Chaminade would give both teams four PacWest wins.