SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball fell 25-20, 25-10, 25-22 Thursday in its season opener against Chico State at the Conlan Center.

Senior middle blocker Kiana Pelton led the Penguins with seven kills and three blocks, while junior outside hitter Edee Leslie added five kills and one block. Makaela Keeve led the Wildcats with 17 kills to go with nine digs and an ace.

Keeve jump-started Chico State from the first rally of the game as she four kills in the first six points for the Wildcats as they jumped ahead 6-2. Dominican though kept things close as Leslie served up an ace and Pelton combined with junior opposite Teddy Batinkova on a block to cut the deficit to one. Keeve helped extend the lead to 15-10 with another kill, forcing a Penguin timeout. The rest of the set went back and forth with each team getting small runs, but Chico State held on for the opening set victory.

The Wildcats had complete control in the second set as they once again jumped out to a 6-2 lead behind two kills from Keeve. After trading points for several minutes, Lizzie Wilson bookended a 10-0 run to end the set with a pair of kills. 

The Penguins shook up their lineup in the third set as they sought a spark to get them back in the match. Freshman outside hitter Devon Condie opened the set with a kill to ignite the Dominican bench, but the set remained close. Several errors allowed the Wildcats to pull ahead by four, but the Penguins began to slowly chip away. Senior defensive specialist Braelyn Wakefield served up an ace to get the bench on its feet once again as she closed the gap to one and Leslie and Condie combined for a block moments later to tie the set at 12. The 8-3 run came to a close as Leslie and Condie found the floor for back-to-back kills to take the 14-13 lead. As the lead continued to trade hands in the close set, poor passing hurt the Penguins down the stretch as the Wildcats took advantage to build a late four-point advantage and they held on for the victory.

Dominican will continue its play in the NorCal Kickoff on Friday with a match at 12:30 p.m. against Cal State East Bay and wrapping up the day with a match against Cal State Monterey Bay at 8 p.m. PDT.