SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball fell 25-12, 25-15, 25-13 Friday night to Northwest Nazarene at the Conlan Center. 

Sophomore outside Ella Heckman led the Penguins in kills for the second match in a row with seven kills while senior libero Vanna Marquez added 12 digs. Natalie Sullivan led the Nighthawks with 12 kills and nine digs. 

Olivia Wright sparked NNU early in the match with two kills during a 4-0 run to take a 2-point lead and they slowly added to it as a Miya Koch kill gave them the 11-6 advantage. Amani Abed and Jasmine Heyward each had a kill to give Dominican some momentum with a 4-0 run of their own to close the gap to one, but the Nighthawks overpowered the Penguins scoring 14 of the final 16 points to take the 1-0 advantage in the match.

The teams traded points early in the second set as Heckman powered the Dominican attack with a pair of kills to help them hold a narrow 8-7 advantage. Wright though led a 6-0 run with a kill and a block to help NNU take a 13-8 advantage. A well placed ball by Sophia Hull highlighted a 4-1 Penguin run that helped them narrow the deficit to three, but the Nighthawks once again pulled away down the stretch to take the 25-15 set victory.

Natalie Sullivan provided the spark for NNU in the third set with a pair of kills to start an 8-1 run to break an early tie. They continued to add onto the lead as the Penguins gave time to some of its younger players in the set, pulling away for the 25-13 victory to secure the sweep.

Dominican will travel north for its final match of the NorCal Kickoff as it takes on Sonoma State at the Wolves Den in Rohnert Park at 7:30 p.m. PDT.