SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball showed plenty of resilience as it overcame injuries and deficits to take the 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20 victory Saturday night over Fresno Pacific at the Conlan Center.

Sophomore outside hitter Tiffany Wong was a force once again for the Penguins (1-6, 1-1 PacWest) with 16 kills on a .378 hitting percentage against her former team, but she went down midway through the second set. The Penguins made a great team effort to finish the match off as junior outside hitter Catherine Johnson came through with seven kills, junior libero Hana Wyles added 21 digs, and freshman middle blocker Edee Leslie finished with five kills and seven block assists. Sophomore setter Haley Frederking and freshman setter Vanna Marquez each finished with 19 assists.

Corinne Acosta led the Sunbirds (2-9, 1-1 PacWest) with a double-double of 10 kills and 12 digs, while Makena Ogas added 13 kills.

Wong came out blazing with the opening kill followed by two aces to open a quick 6-1 lead. Junior middle blocker Eleni Loizou combined with freshman middle Teddy Batinkova for a block to spark a 4-1 run to extend the lead to 10-3. Acosta powered home two kills in a 3-point run to cut the deficit to four and slow the Penguin momentum. Mikayla Kennedy then gave FPU some momentum with two kills in a 4-0 run to cut back to within one. The teams traded small runs and the Sunbirds were able to tie the match at 20, but Wong took over with three kills in a set ending 4-1 run for Dominican.

Acosta and Ogas sparked FPU to begin the fourth set combining to take part in a set opening 4-point run. The Penguins took advantage of several Sunbird errors to chip away at the lead and tie it 6-6 moments later. After Dominican was able to slowly build a 12-10 advantage, Ogas found the floor for two kills and Acosta added two aces in a 6-0 run to retake the lead and the momentum. Sophomore outside hitter Mariah Ahid provided the response for the Penguins using a strong serve to frustrate the Sunbirds passing in a 9-1 run to switch the tide and take a 23-18 lead and the closed out the set for a 2-0 lead in the match.

Kennedy got FPU off to another strong start in the third set with a block and a kill during a quick 3-point run. Ahid and junior opposite Rebecca Smith each found the court for kills during a 4-1 run to answer and tie the set 6-6, but the Sunbirds responded immediately with a 3-0 run. After Wong put down a strong kill from the backline to make it 15-13, she went down with an ankle injury and was forced to leave the match. The Penguins rallied for their fallen teammate and Johnson sparked a 3-0 run with a kill to tie the match up 18-18 moments later. After trading a pair of runs to make it 23-23, Ogas and Acosta found the court for back-to-back kills to give FPU the third set.

Frederking and Marquez continued to spread the ball around in the fourth set as Johnson and Batinkova each had kills in a 4-1 run to give the Penguins a slight edge. Jaalyn Sotoa-Stuebing gave the momentum back to the Sunbirds with a kill and two block assists in a 5-point run to take the 7-4 lead. The lead grew to as many as five, but a couple of FPU errors and a block by Batinkova and Loizou helped close the gap to 13-11. Loizou then led the charge on a 5-1 run with a block and a kill to tie the set at 16-16. Dominican kept the pressure on the Sunbirds as Batinkova and Leslie put down back-to-back kills to take the 18-17 lead, then Leslie closed out a 6-point run with two block assists to give the Penguins match point at 24-18. The Sunbirds held off the defeat for a few more points, but Smith came through with a powerful swing down the middle to seal it for Dominican.

The Penguins will return to the court Monday to take on Holy Names at 7 p.m. PDT at the Conlan Center. Dominican will be celebrating Faculty and Staff Appreciation night against the Hawks. Live stats and video will be available online.