ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball fell in straight sets 25-13, 25-16, 25-14 to Sonoma State in its season opener Tuesday night at The Wolves' Den.
 
Freshman middle blocker Kiana Pelton led the Penguins (0-1) with five kills on a .500 hitting percentage to go with three blocks and two kills. Sophomore setter Haley Frederking added nine assists, four digs and a service ace.
 
Kiana Richardson powered the Seawolves (4-1) attack with 10 kills on a .412 hitting percentage, while Bailey Palestini added nine kills. Sonoma State was efficient throughout the match finishing with a .313 hitting percentage.
 
Dominican scored the first point of the match, but the Seawolves bounced back on the strong service of Ashleigh Phelps who recorded two aces in a 4-0 run to seize the momentum. Pelton ended the run with a strong kill in the middle, but Jenna Miller served up four aces in a 9-0 run to give Sonoma State the 13-2 lead. The rest of the set saw the two sides trade points until the 25-13 victory for the Seawolves.
 
Adriana Baysinger led Sonoma State on a 6-2 run to open the second set with two kills and a block assist as the Seawolves continued to hold the momentum. Sophomore defensive specialist Samantha Brown led Dominican on a quick 3-0 run with two service aces to cut the lead to 9-6, but the Seawolves answered with a 3-0 burst of their own. Palestini and Richardson each had two kills in another run for Sonoma State to increase the lead to 16-8 to give the Seawolves all the breathing room they would need for the 25-16 set two victory.
 
Dominican got off to its strongest start in the third set as Pelton found the floor twice to cap off some of the longest rallies of the night and keep the match knotted up 2-2. Sonoma State then took advantage of several Penguin errors to take a 9-3 lead. The Penguins slowly chipped away at the lead over the next several minutes and a strong kill by sophomore outside hitter Mariah Ahid and a solo block from Pelton cut the deficit to 13-9 near the midway point of the set. The Seawolves responded with a 7-2 run to put the set out of reach as they cruised to the 25-14 victory.
 
Dominican will head across the Golden Gate Bridge to take on Concordia University and San Francisco State on Friday in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase. The Penguins will square off with the Cavaliers at 2:30 p.m. PDT before meeting the Gators at 7:30 p.m. in The Swamp. Live stats and video will be available online.