IRVINE, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball fell 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-18) to Concordia University Irvine at CU Arena in its final match of a four-game road trip.

Junior defensive specialist Vanna Marquez had one of the best performances of her Penguin career with 14 assists and eight digs. Junior middle Edee Leslie added five blocks and four kills on a .444 hitting percentage. Kirra Schulz led the Eagles with a double-double of 15 kills and 10 digs.

CUI got off to a strong start, scoring the first four points of the match before Schulz led another 4-0 run with a kill and an ace to extend its lead to 10-3. The Eagles continued to add to their lead with 3- and 4-point runs as they pulled away for the 25-12 victory in the opening set.

The Penguins found some momentum early in the second set led by senior outside Kiana Pelton who combined with Leslie on a block before ending a 5-0 run with a kill to take an 8-5 lead. CUI setter Brianna Latigue spread the ball around to help the Eagles mount a 3-0 run that tied the match at 9-9 moments later. Latigue then found the floor with a dump set to spark another 3-point burst that gave them the 13-11 lead before Mackenzie Jensen recorded four straight kills in a 6-0 run to extend the lead to six. Dominican slowly chipped away at the lead with a series of small runs as freshman middle Ella Jimenez found the floor on a kill and then combined with senior Tiffany Wong on a block to spark a 4-1 run that closed the gap to 24-22, but Kennedy Farley ended the set with a kill to take the 2-0 lead in the match.

Schulz sparked the Eagles with three kills during a set opening 5-1 run. The teams began to trade points for several minutes until a pair of Dominican attack errors and a kill by Schulz extended the lead 14-9. Leslie led the response with strong defense at the net combining for block assists with Pelton and then Wong during a 4-1 run that closed the deficit to two. Leslie then found the floor on a kill and an Eagle attack error made it a 17-16 lead for CUI as Dominican looked to seize control. It would not be so as Farley capped a 4-0 run with back-to-back kills to halt the Penguin momentum and the Eagles held on for the victory.

Dominican will return to the Bay Area to take on Holy Names on Friday at 7 p.m. PST at Tobin Gymnasium.