San Rafael, Calif. – Dominican University women's volleyball fell in straight sets (25-19, 25-16, 25-21) to Fresno Pacific University on Thursday.

Mariah Ahid led the way in the kill's column with 12, with senior Tiffany Wong and junior Edee Leslie adding seven and six, respectively. Senior Haley Frederking notched 14 assists with junior Gabi Maiocco adding 11 of her own, while Wong and senior Samantha Brown each added 16 total digs.

Dominican held hefty leads in each of the first two sets, owning at least a five point advantage in both frames. A kill by freshman Ella Jiminez started the attack for the Penguins with Ahid and Devon Condie also adding early kills for their respective teams. Dominican earned its first five-point lead in the first set after a set by Frederking was sent screeching to the court by Ahid, but the Sunbirds stormed back and closed the gap before taking a large lead of their own, with Corinne Acosta bringing the score to 21-16. Dominican went on to add a trio of points, but Fresno State ultimately won the first set on another Acosta kill.

Set two started similarly to the first when a Jimenez kill gave Dominican a five-point with the score reading 8-3. A pair of Fresno Pacific points were immediate matched by Dominican with Wong converting on a kill before a Catie Speas ball handling error gave the Penguins an 11-5 advantage. Dominican was given another six-point advantage after a Sunbird attack error, but the 14-6 advantage was soon squandered as Fresno Pacific went on a 10-point run to give it an 18-14 lead.

A service error gave Dominican the ball back, but another run proved to bring the set out of reach as Fresno Pacific waltzed into the third frame with a 2-0 set lead after winning the second stanza 25-16.

The third and final set was the first frame that Dominican did not jump out to a quick lead, this time trading points with the Sunbirds. Brown tallied a rare Libero kill to give her team an 8-7 lead, followed by a Sunbirds setting error and a Leslie kill, increasing the score to 10-7. The lead soon disappeared after a Dominican attack error brought the match even at 11-11, but Ahid deemed the third set her own as she converted on another kill, one of her five successful attacks in the final set.

The pattern of trading points continued as the set went on, with the final tie coming near the halfway point when the scoreboard read 16-16. Fresno Pacific distanced itself from here, going on an 8-2 run that brought the score to 24-18. Dominican gained one last breath after Ahid's fourth and fifth kills of the set made the score read 24-21, but an attack error left the Sunbirds victorious with a 25-21 set win.

Dominican now looks ahead to its season finale when it hosts the Academy of Art for Senior Night on Saturday at 2 p.m.