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SAN DIEGO—While the Sea Lions swept the San Diego Christian Hawks in three straight sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-18) on Tuesday, it wasn't exactly a stroll in the park. PLNU had to fight hard to earn the win, despite their overall better play.

“They [SDCC] played really tough. They were the underdog so they were more fired up than we were to play them,” confessed sophomore libero Nicole Eiler.

The Sea Lions put the Hawks away fair and square in the first set, winning by a margin of five points, 25-20. However, SDCC was able to inch much closer in the second, almost taking the victory. Point Loma held on and won the set 25-23 on a Tabitha Henken kill.

PLNU's overall hitting percentage was .283 compared to SDCC's .144. Despite the difference in numbers, the Hawks were still able to give the Sea Lions a run for their money.

“Their weird stuff works.” said sophomore setter Natalie Hamill. “They're not as strong as us; they don't have as big or as powerful of hitters. Their shots are harder to read (though).”

The Sea Lions seemingly had the match in the bag during the third set, as they were twelve points ahead at game point. But, the Hawks managed to score six unanswered points, improving the score to 24-18. Finally, Hamill put the ball away to end the match.

Eiler said that communication was the biggest problem. Head coach Rochelle Short said, “We have to work on finishing. That's really the bottom line. Game three was a pretty good indictor of that.”

Both Hamill and Eiler believe that the team could've played better.

“It was just kind of an awkward game but we did well,” said Hamill. Eiler likewise admits: “I think we could've done a lot better but it's still young in the season. Next time it will be different.”

Junior outside hitter Tabitha Henken managed to shine with 18 kills on 39 swings and 12 digs. Freshman middle blocker Alyssa Dwyer led in hitting percentages (.615) with nine kills on just 13 attempts. Sophomore outside hitter Maddie Dahms was also damaging to San Diego Christian with six winners on 15 attacks. Sophomore Nicole Eiler led the team with 17 digs. Junior Aimee Bird and sophomore Natalie Hamill recorded a combined 33 assists.

The Sea Lions will take on No. 25-ranked Westmont next. The match could be important for both teams, not only in the GSAC standings, but also for national ranking consideration.

“On Saturday we will need to focus on taking care of our ball,” said Short.

PLNU will host Westmont at 3:00 pm on Saturday.