ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball dropped a pair of matches 3-1 Friday to Sonoma State and Humboldt State as it opened the Gator/Seawolf Classic at The Wolves' Den.

Senior Tiffany Wong led the Penguins (0-7) in the opening match of the day with 15 kills against the Seawolves. Junior middle blocker Edee Leslie added nine kills and five blocks on the day.

The second set was the strongest for the Penguins in both matches. Leslie led the early charge against the Seawolves in the second set as she combined with Wong for a block and followed it up with a kill to spark a 5-0 run. Sonoma State battled back slowly and took a 13-11 lead after a kill by Jessie Hobbs. After the Seawolves slowly built its lead to four, Wong's strong service game helped the Penguins during another 5-0 run to retake a late 20-19 lead. Blocking then helped seal the set for the Dominican with junior opposite Teddy Batinkova taking part in back-to-back blocks to get to set point and senior outside hitter Kiana Pelton ended it with a kill for the 25-22 victory.

Against the Jacks, five different Penguins recorded points in a 7-2 run that helped them get out to an early 8-5 lead. Humboldt State slowly battled back to tie the match at 13 and eventually retook a 19-17 lead after taking advantage on several Penguin errors. Sophomore middle hitter Ella Jimenez then spraked the Penguins retaliation with a strong kill from the middle while Wong added one of her own from the back row to retake the 20-19 lead. It was another team effort for Dominican to close the set on a 4-1 run as Batinkova clinched the 25-23 set victory with a kill.

Despite dropping both matches, the Penguins kept all but two sets within five points as they continue to show improvements. 

Dominican will wrap up the Gator/Seawolf Classic with matches against Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. PDT at The Swamp.