FRESNO, Calif.- A new era of Dominican women's volleyball started out with a bang Friday night against Jessup University. The Penguins defeated the Warriors in a thrilling five set match giving them their first victory in a season opener since 2018. This victory also marked the first win for new head coach Tim Loesch who is in his first season donning the black and gold.

Dominican came out the gates amped up as they would win the first set 25 to 15. Sophomore Ashlyn Daugherty would collect the first points of the season as she slammed home a kill that was served up by teammate Camille Rivers. Rivers, the Vacaville native, was all over the court for the Pengs racking up lots of assists in the first set. She would finish the night with a career high 44 assists.

The Penguins would use the help of a couple talented freshman to secure a victory in the second set. Kali Young, a freshman from South Carolina, gave the Warriors headaches in the second set as she would collect three straight consecutive kills. Fellow freshman Reese Bozak followed suit with a couple kills of her own. Bozak would finish the night posting nine kills in her collegiate debut. Young would end the match collecting her first double-double of her young career going for 10 kills and 19 digs.

Jessup fought back to force a fifth set, but the Penguins had no quit in them. Sophomore Braenwynne Matthews who finished the night with a team high 13 kills, brought the energy for the last set. Rivers like she had been doing all night, assisted a beauty to Matthews who slammed one home to give the Pengs an early 2-0 lead. Matthews and fellow teammate Avery Schneider were too much for Jessup down the stretch as they widened Dominican's lead. An attack error from the Warriors led to the 15^th point and the victory for the Penguins.

The Penguins will look to carry this momentum into tomorrow's match as they are back on the court at 9 a.m. to square off against Chico State.