box score

FRESNO, Calif. – Though a great effort was made, the NAIA 14th-ranked Sea Lions were unable to pull off a win against No.8-ranked Fresno Pacific University Saturday afternoon, where the team suffered a 3-1 loss (31-33, 15-25, 25-19, 21-25).
 
Unfortunately, losing to the Sunbirds isn't really anything new. Today marked Point Loma's 19th straight loss to FPU. It almost seemed like the odds were in Fresno's favor before the Sea Lions even got there. 
 
In spite of the team's underdog status, PLNU put up a good fight, even forcing the first set to a 33-31 score. In a game with 19 tied points, it was going to come down to who would make more mistakes. Sadly, it was the Sea Lions. Point Loma was up 24-22 when Fresno called a timeout. The Sunbirds came back on the court only to serve up back-to-back-to-back kills to take a 25-24 lead of the set. Back and forth kills from Point Loma and FPU continued until the set was tied 31-all. The Sunbirds' Jessie Alcorn hit two stingers to end the set and put Fresno on top. 
 
It seemed like Fresno took the life right out of the Sea Lions for the second set, where the team dwindled with only 15 point to show. Despite an early 3-0 lead for PLNU, the Sunbirds came right back and quickly took control thanks to a long serving spree from Kailey Allen. Multiple attack and service errors from the Sea Lions paved the way for Fresno to easily take the entire set with a 10-point lead. 
 
The third set was tied 15-all when Point Loma kicked in. A couple of kills from freshman Delaney McCraney and back-to-back service aces from senior Tabitha Henken gave the Sea Lions a four-point advantage at just the right time. A few more good serves and kills from Maddie Dahms and Alyssa Dwyer gave the Sea Lions its first win of the day, and a little bit of hope for the match. 
 
Despite being in a six-point hole mid-fourth set, Loma dug deep to get out, but was just too late. The Sea Lions were able to rally at game point to earn four more points, but fell short 21-25. Fresno outhit Point Loma .316 to .244, but the Sea Lions' nine service errors compared to the Sunbirds' four made a considerable impact. Five extra hitting errors for Point Loma also affected the game. As stated earlier, mistakes would be the deciding factor.
 
Henken and Dwyer combined for 31 kills. Freshman McCraney recorded 12 while Dahms added eight. The Sunbirds' Martina Gregusova was unstoppable with 25 stingers. Kathleen Anderson and Alcorn each recorded 17 kills. 
 
FPU is now 8-2 in GSAC while PLNU (14-5) drops to 5-5 in the conference. 
 
The Sea Lions next match is at home Tuesday Oct. 18 against Concordia University at 7 pm.