SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Dominican University of California women's volleyball team battled throughout Thursday evening's PacWest Conference matchup against Point Loma, highlighted by a hard-fought third set, before falling 3-1.
The Penguins (4-14, 1-9 PacWest) dropped the opening two sets, 25-13 and 25-20, but responded with their strongest offensive performance of the match in the third set. Dominican recorded 17 kills and pushed the Sea Lions to extra points before Point Loma secured the 30-28 victory to take a 3-0 lead in the match.
Dominican continued to compete in the fourth set, recording 11 kills while hitting .235, but Point Loma closed out the match with a 25-19 win.
Alexis Schwartz led the Penguins offensively with 15 kills, adding two total blocks and 16 points. Kristina Atonio contributed eight kills and a team-high four block assists, while Kali Young finished with six kills.
Chloe Cruz paced the Dominican offense with 16 assists and added 12 digs. Bella Vertudez recorded 11 assists, while Sophia Bernabe anchored the defense with a match-high 26 digs. Cierra Ray also contributed 11 digs and two service aces.
At the net, Ashlyn Daugherty tallied three block assists, while Jazzlyn Zendejas added two block assists as the Penguins finished with six total team blocks.
Dominican recorded 42 kills, five service aces and 69 digs in the four-set contest. Despite the setback, the Penguins showed resilience in the third set, extending the frame to 30 points and continuing to battle against a strong Point Loma squad.
The Penguins will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as they travel to CUI at 2 p.m.
