BOX SCORE | PHOTOS

SAN DIEGO - After three weeks of frustration, losing five of the last seven games, Point Loma Nazarene swept Hope International on Tuesday night in Golden Gym (25-16, 25-22, 25-19).

“It was a good match to get back into the swing of things since we've been struggling,” said freshman middle blocker Alyssa Dwyer.

The Sea Lions cruised 25-16 in the first set after four kills apiece from Tabitha Henken and Dwyer, while red-hot Maddie Dahms had three winners.

Point Loma had to work a little harder for the second game. After a set-opening kill from Hope's ace Naomi Iosia and the addition of three PLNU errors, the Sea Lions found themselves at a 4-0 deficit.

“Hope stepped up their game a lot in the second set. We weren't quite ready for them,” said Dahms.

After playing catch up for the majority of the match, the Sea Lions clung on to win 25-22 thanks to timely kills from Henken and equally timely errors from the Royals.

“They definitely put up a fight, but we came back and showed them that, in the end, we were the better team,” said Dahms.

Once again, Hope started out with a 4-0 lead in the third set. This time, though, the Sea Lions answered right back with four consecutive points of their own. After a quick struggle for dominance, Point Loma was finally able to take the lead and run.

With more winners from Henken, Dwyer, Destiny McIntyre, and Aimee Bird, the Sea Lions snagged the 25-19 set and the 3-0 match.

Though it looked like the Royals had the ability to fluster the Sea Lions, Point Loma kept its composure and maintained its goal.

“The team had more confidence in each other tonight,” said McIntyre. “We were worried about the ball on our side instead of freaking out about what they were going to do.”

Henken shined with 21 kills on 42 attempts (.405). Bird hit .385, going six for 13. Dwyer followed closely behind, hitting 10 shots on 22 attempts (.364). Dahms added a valuable six winners to the lot.

Bird and Natalie Hamill combined for 36 assists, while Nicole Eiler put up 26 digs.

The Sea Lions had 10 blocks while the Royals had just four. PLNU's hitting percentage was .287 compared to HIU's .164. 

NAIA No. 14-ranked Point Loma (15-11, 9-8 GSAC) is now 2-0 against Hope International (6-15, 3-14 GSAC).

“We kept our goal of keeping the game within three,” said Dwyer. “We did our thing and just played ball.”

The Sea Lions travel to take on Concordia University on Saturday, Nov 6 at 3:00 pm.