ARCATA, Calif. – Dominican women's volleyball erased a two-set deficit Saturday afternoon, closing the Redwood Coast Volleyball Classic with a 24-26, 14-25, 25-20, 31-29, 15-10 victory over Rollins at Lumberjack Arena.
The Penguins (3-5) did their cleanest work when it mattered most, hitting .250 in the fifth set while holding the Tars (4-4) to .043 to finish off the comeback.
Alexis Schwartz led Dominican with 20 kills, three service aces and 15 digs, while
Bella Vertudez had a team-high 19 assists and
Chloe Cruz added 10 as the Penguins spread the ball to 11 players with at least one kill.
Sophia Bernabe added 14 digs and two aces,
Cierra Ray finished with 10 digs and two aces, and Dominican matched Rollins with nine total blocks.
The Tars were led by Rylee Yarborough, who finished with 13 kills, four aces and 11 digs. Robinson Repass added 11 kills on a .421 hitting percentage, while Vivian Scuteri had 10 kills, hit .412 and finished with four total blocks.
After falling behind 2-0 in the match, Dominican began to turn the momentum in the third. Rollins built a 13-7 lead, but the Penguins took advantage of errors to power a six-point run that tied the set at 13-13.
Kalaya Phung teamed on a block to begin the run and later added a kill while Schwartz put down the tying point in the stretch. Dominican followed with four straight points to move in front 17-15, then created separation with another four-point burst when Vertudez helped spread the ball around as Schwartz,
Kristina Atonio and
Kali Young each recorded kills for the Penguins.
The fourth set became the turning point of the match, with the teams trading 21 ties and nine lead changes. Rollins opened with the first three points, but Dominican answered with five straight as Bernabe had two aces and Cruz added a kill. The Tars later earned set point at 24-22, but Dominican responded with a Rollins service error and back-to-back Schwartz kills to take a 25-24 lead. The teams continued to trade points deep into extra play before Ray finished the set with a kill to give Dominican a 31-29 win and force a fifth set.
The Penguins carried that momentum into the final frame. After Rollins tied the set at 1-1, Dominican scored five straight points with Bernabe at the service line. Schwartz accounted for three points during the run, teaming on a block before putting down back-to-back kills to give the Penguins a 6-1 lead. Dominican later added another five-point run to stretch the advantage to 12-4, with
Ashlyn Daugherty contributing a kill and a block, Schwartz adding an ace and Young putting down a kill. The Tars made one last push with four straight points to cut the deficit to 14-10, but Young ended the match with a kill from Cruz to complete the comeback.
Dominican showed its resilience early in a first set that featured 10 ties and six lead changes. After Rollins used a four-point run to build a 5-1 lead, the Penguins answered with seven straight points behind Ray's serve. Dominican took advantage of four Tars attack errors during the run, while
Trinity Tavita and Schwartz added kills and Ray capped the stretch with an ace for a 9-6 lead. Rollins later answered with four straight points to move in front 19-18 before closing the set with back-to-back kills from Kayla Goodloe.
The Penguins had another push in the second set, using a four-point run to trim a 14-8 deficit to 14-12 as Schwartz supplied an ace and a kill. The Tars responded with seven straight points, with Scuteri putting down three kills during the run, before Rollins finished the set with four straight points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Dominican will host its home opener Friday as it also opens PacWest play against Biola at 6 p.m. inside the Conlan Center.
