SEASIDE, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball opened the 2022 season with a pair of 3-0 losses to Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal Poly Pomona in the Otter Invitational on Friday at Otter Sports Center.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Ella Heckman led the way on the day with eight kills and two aces, while senior Gabi Maiocco finished with 24 assists, two blocks and eight digs.
 
Game One
The Toros opened up a lead on the Penguins as Cassie Taylor recorded five kills to lift CSUDH to an 11-2 lead in the opening minutes of the match. A pair of kills from Maiocco helped steady Dominican as they answered with a 7-2 run of their own to close the gap to four, but the Toros quickly answered ending the set on a 12-4 run.
 
The second set started much like the first with CSUDH jumping ahead 6-1 in the opening minutes this time on the back of several Penguin errors. Dominican once again got to within three at 12-9 on a kill by freshman Avery Maddox, before Angelina Robles led an 8-0 Toro run with a pair of service aces to push the lead to double digits on their way to the 25-17 set victory.
 
Senior Vanna Marquez gave Dominican its first lead of the match with a service ace early in the third set, but the Toros went on a 4-0 run to retake the 6-3 lead. CSUDH quickly pushed its lead into double digits after Rebekah Christensen served up an ace and the team largely traded points for the final minutes of the match with the Toros securing the sweep with a 25-18 victory.
 
Game Two
Much like the first match, the Broncos jumped out to an early 11-4 lead as Dominican struggled to find its swing. The Penguins matched their counterparts for the remainder of the set as the teams traded points with no run greater than three points and CPP claiming the opening set 25-19 while also claiming the second set 25-12 in dominating fashion.
 
The Penguins looked to get off to a strong start in the third set as Ava Rifilato and Kendal Kibanoff each had aces to give them a small 6-4 advantage. Samantha Campoin answered with two aces of her own for the Broncos while Madison Novak had two kills and a block assist during an 8-0 run that gave them the lead for good. Dominican was unable to contain CPP down the stretch as it claimed the set 25-13.
 
Dominican will return to the court Saturday to take on Cal State Monterey Bay at 7:30 p.m. PDT at the Otter Sports Center.