Box Score HONOLULU – Dominican women's volleyball beat Hawaii Pacific in three sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-22) Saturday at St. Andrew's Priory.
 
In the first set, the Sharks took an early advantage before junior Kate Even sparked the Penguins with a pair of kills, including one that cut the deficit to 6-5. Junior Brittany Latigue followed with a kill of her own, as did freshman Catherine Johnson, and the Penguins' advantage grew to 8-6 after an attack error from HPU. Later in the set, Latigue teamed up with Senior Aimee Steinwand on back-to-back blocks to put Dominican ahead 11-9. The Penguins were finally able to create some breathing room as Junior Cat Thomason sandwiched a pair of kills around one from Steinwand, giving Dominican a 16-13 lead and forcing the Sharks to call timeout. The advantage grew to 17-13 after the break on a block from Even before Kayla Demari ended the Penguins' 4-0 run with a kill. HPU used their second timeout after a bad set put Dominican ahead 22-17. After Alyson Brunner recorded a kill for the Sharks to make it 22-18, the Penguins closed out the set with three consecutive points, ending it on a kill from Steinwand.
 
Dominican continued to play well in the second set, forcing HPU to take an early timeout after a kill from Steinwand made it 4-1. After the Sharks cut the Penguin lead to 11-10, Johnson and Steinwand recorded back-to-back kills and sparked an 8-0 run which allowed the Penguins to run away with the set. Carson Pyle snapped a 3-0 Penguin run with a kill to make it 24-15 before Thomason finished it with a kill of her own.
 
Much like the first two sets, the third started out close with neither team able to create much separation. Even tied it 5-5 with a kill but HPU quickly regained the lead on an attack error from Dominican. After falling behind 9-7, a service error from the Sharks and a service ace from freshman Josie Walser allowed the Penguins to tie it at 9-9. After a miscue on a set by Dominican gave HPU a 10-9 lead, a kill from Steinwand started a 4-0 run, which Thomason capped with another kill. Things would remain tight the rest of the way as the Sharks reeled in the Penguins every time it looked like Dominican might pull away. Even notched a kill to make it 16-13 and tallied another to make it 17-14. Latigue made it 19-16 with a kill, leading to an HPU timeout. The Sharks came out of the break and scored two consecutive points, cutting into the Penguin lead at 19-18. Johnson recorded a kill but an attack error from Dominican brought HPU back within one at 20-19. Thomason then extended the lead to 21-19 with a kill before the Sharks answered again. Even sent home another kill to put the Penguins ahead 22-20, forcing the Sharks to burn their second timeout. HPU came out of the break with an attack error and Thomason followed with a kill to make it 24-20. Pyle answered with a kill and a block to bring the Sharks back within two at 24-22 before an attack error from HPU ended the set and the match.
 
The win is the third straight for the Penguins, pushing them over the .500 mark in PacWest Conference play at 6-5.
 
Dominican takes the court again Thursday against Holy Names at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available for the match.