SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball kicked off its season Monday with an exciting five-set victory (20-25,25-15,23-25,25-22,15-13) over Sonoma State at the Conlan Center.
 
Seniors Kate Even, Cat Thomason, and Brittany Latigue all had strong performances to lead the Penguins (1-0) to their first win of the season. Even led the Penguins with 17 kills with a .361 hitting percentage and added two aces. Thompson also reached double-digit kills with 13 on a .379 hitting percentage to go with three blocks. Latigue led all players with eight blocks to go with eight kills.
 
Emily Eaton led all players with 19 kills on a .341 hitting percentage for the Seawolves (3-2). Dominican hit an efficient .228 and held Sonoma State to a .174 hitting percentage while compiling 11 blocks.
 
The Seawolves jumped ahead 8-1 early in the first set, but the Penguins quickly cut the lead to three points with the help of a couple kills from Thomason and Latigue. The set remained close until Tate Battistini found the floor on two kills to help Sonoma State score four of the last five points and secure the 25-20 set victory.
 
The second set began with a tight back and forth duel between the two teams, but Kate Even had three kills and a solo block to lead Dominican on a 10-1 run to take the 16-8 lead. The Penguins continued to roll on their way to a 25-15 victory to knot the match at a set apiece.
 
Dominican trailed for most of the third set, but Catherine Johnson capped off a 6-1 run with two kills to bring it within one at 24-23. Eaton answered for the Seawolves with a kill to take the 2-1 set lead.
 
The Penguins carried forward its late momentum into the fourth set capitalizing on three Sonoma State errors to take an early 6-3 lead. Latigue then powered a 4-0 run with a kill and back-to-back block assists to push the Dominican lead to 11-5. The Seawolves charged back late in the set, cutting the lead to one on a service ace by Jenna Miller. Even closed the door for the finishing with the final three kills for the Penguins before combining with Josie Walser for a block to force a fifth set.
 
Dominican started strong again scoring the first four points of the deciding set and showed no sign of slowing down. Sonoma slowly battled its way back, but the Seawolves could never find its ground while Dominican continued to rally throughout the fifth set. Dominating performances by Even and Latigue, each finishing with four kills in the set, lifted the Penguins to the 15-13 victory.
 
The Penguins continue their homestand this weekend as they host the 2018 D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase at the Conlan Center. Dominican will take on Cal State LA and Alaska Fairbanks at 10:45 a.m. and 7:45 p.m. PDT Friday. Live stats and video will be available online.