OAKLAND, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball fell 26-24, 25-21, 25-17 Friday evening to Holy Names at Tobin Gymnasium.
Avery Maddox led the way for the Penguins with eight kills, three digs, two aces and a block, while
Vanna Marquez added 25 digs and two service aces.
Gabi Maiocco also had one of her best nights of the season finishing with 28 assists and two blocks. Saupuni Mavaega led the Hawks with nine kills and two blocks with Lauren Sera adding eight kills and two aces. Dominican set season bests as a team with 33 kills and six blocks.
Dominican had a strong start to the match as they went point for point with HNU until Maddox found the floor on a kill to start an 8-1 run with
Jasmine Heyward providing the spark on the latter half of the run with a pair of kills of her own. It was the largest run of the season for the Penguins who took an 11-7 lead. Maddox and
Amani Abed each had powerful kills in a 5-1 run that extended the lead to six but Mavaega began to heat up as she led a 5-0 run with a pair of kills to get the Hawks back within one.
Ella Heckman halted the momentum with back-to-back kills and Maddox came in with yet another timely kill to make it 19-15 as Dominican looked to be in control. With the score 23-18, Holy Names used a timeout to regroup and go on a 4-0 run capped by a Sera kill that once again closed the gap to one. Heyward found the floor for a kill to get Dominican to set point, but Sera capped a 4-point Hawk run with back-to-back aces to secure the 26-24 victory.
Dominican had another strong start in the second set as Maddox placed her first serve inside the backline and her second could not be controlled by HNU as a 4-point run gave the Penguins a 7-4 advantage. The Hawks spread the ball around as it finally settled in and retook the lead on a 6-0 run capped by a kill from Rachelle Hernandez to take 16-13 lead and the teams traded points for much of the remainder of the set as HNU took the 2-0 lead in the match.
Maddox and
Avery Schneider led the offensive attack early to keep the Penguins out in front by a narrow 12-11 margin. The Hawks once again found their swings midset as Sera sparked a 6-0 run to take a five-point advantage. HNU added to its lead with another 6-points unanswered and held off a late run by the Penguins to secure the sweep.
Dominican will head next across the Golden Gate to face Academy of Art at 6:30 p.m. PDT Thursday at Walter Gleason Gymnasium in Belmont.
