Box Score FRESNO, Calif. -- Dominican women's volleyball fell Thursday night to Fresno Pacific 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 18-25, 23-25) in their Pacific West Conference opener at Special Events Center.
 
Senior Aimee Steinwand led the Penguins (1-8, 0-1 PacWest) with a double-double of 14 kills and 15 digs, and junior Kate Even contributed 11 kills and three blocks in the match. Defensively, juniors Cat Thomason and Brittany Latigue, making her season debut, had five and four blocks, respectively.
 
Fresno Pacific's Malerie Crenshaw led the Sunbirds (2-7, 1-0 PacWest) in kills with 19 in the match. Kylei Dewar added eight blocks to go along with her 12 kills. Greta Dobenecker earned a double-double of 12 digs and 28 assists in the match.
 
Fresno Pacific drew first blood with a 0-2 lead in the first set, but Dominican would match up with a 4-point run that included back-to-back blocks from Latigue and Thomason to set up a 5-2 lead. The Penguins would hold the lead throughout most of the set, but a 4-point surge with the Sunbirds trailing 19-16 gave them the lead for good.
 
The Sunbirds would strike first again in the second set, with Dominican taking advantage of back-to-back attack errors from Crenshaw to take a 5-3 lead and start an early 5-point surge. The Penguins would keep the momentum going for the rest of the set, including another 4-point run that featured a service ace from sophomore Zoe Burgess. Fresno Pacific attempted to close the gap with a 3-0 run that included a couple of service aces from Christina Tran, but Dominican would be able to hold off the Sunbirds and take a 25-20 set victory to tie the match.
 
Dominican would start the third game with a 3-0 lead, but back-to-back kills from Madison Pierce would allow Fresno Pacific to answer with three points and tie the match. The Penguins maintained a small advantage until a Sierra LeBeau service ace turned the momentum to the Sunbirds with an 8-7 lead. Fresno Pacific would never lose the lead again in the set, including a 5-point surge late to take the set 25-18 and a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Fresno Pacific continued their momentum into the fourth set, despite Dominican taking an early 3-1 lead. A couple kills by senior Susanna Pilkerton helped Dominican maintain the lead at 7-5, but another 5-point surge by the Sunbirds gave them the three point advantage. The Penguins kept the set close behind Kate Even and Steinwand to go on a 6-0 run and take a 15-13 lead. However, Kylei Dewar gave the lead back to Fresno Pacific with a kill to end a 4-1 run. The Sunbirds maintained a two point margin the remainder of the scratch out a 25-23 win to take the match.
 
The Penguins will travel Saturday to San Francisco to face their rival Academy of Art at 7 p.m. PST. Live stats and video will be available online.