[Box score]

SAN DIEGO - McKensey Wise had a career-high 20 kills and nine blocks but it was not enough to help the Point Loma volleyball team overcome Dixie State, as PLNU fell in five sets, 25-14, 23-25, 17-25, 26-24 and 15-11, on Friday, Oct. 5.

This was the sixth five-set match for PLNU (5-9, 1-4 PacWest) in 14 matches this season. The Sea Lions had won their previous two five-set matches after dropping their first three to begin the season. The win bumps Dixie State to 5-7 on the season and to 3-4 in the PacWest.

Wise, a sophomore middle blocker from Thousand Oaks, Calif., led all scorers in the match with 25 points. She hit .382 with 20 kills and just seven errors in 34 attempts. She was also responsible for nine blocks as she barely missed her first double-double of the season.

"McKensey was definitely the highlight tonight," Point Loma head coach Sarah Gustin explained. "Whenever you have a middle leading your team in kills it's very impressive. For her to keep up her performance throughout the entire match was very impressive.

"We struggle as a team in blocking so to see McKensey play like that tonight shows we can be a good blocking team when we want to be," Gustin continued. "I was really proud of the way she played overall and hope she can continue to play with those numbers. If the team can follow her lead we will be well off."

Natalie Hamill put up a match-best 50 assists, four off her season-high. Delaney McCraney also got into double-figures in kills as she slammed down 12 finishers. Nicole Eiler led the squad with 28 digs, while both Hamill and Briana Vieth had three service aces.

Brita Jensen and Shannon Young led the Red Storm with 12 and 13 kills, respectively.

In the first set, Dixie State put together an 11-2 run to go up 1-0 in the match. The Red Storm outhit the Sea Lions in the set .385 to .028.

The Sea Lions showed heart and determination to come back and take the second set. After DSC put on a 5-0 run to go up 23-20 it was time for PLNU to put together one of their most impressive runs of the year behind the serve and the arm of freshman Briana Vieth. First she ended the Red Storm's run with a kill, and then she took the serve and nailed two straight aces to knot the match at 23-23. She then continued to hold serve as the Sea Lions nailed down the final two points on a DSC error and a set-ending kill from Kelli LeClair to bring the match even at one set apiece.

Point Loma would take the momentum of the second set into the third. They jumped out to a 11-6 lead and carried that lead through to the end, winning the set 25-17. The Sea Lions never trailed after the 4-3 mark. The .414 hitting mark for the Sea Lions (nine kills, three errors) in the set was their second -best hitting percentage in any set this year.  The only better mark came in the second set against Notre Dame de Namur when Point Loma registered a .577 hitting percentage (15 kills, 0 errors, 26 attempts).

The Red Storm would battle back in the fourth set to send the match to a decisive final set. After the match was tied at 16-16 neither team would lead by more than two. The match would be tied at 19-19, 20-20, 22-22 and 24-24. The Sea Lions found themselves facing game-point with the red Storm leading 24-24 but fought back to tie the match at 24-24 before DSC scored the final two points to knot the match at two sets apiece.

In the fifth set, PLNU jumped on top 4-0 before DSC put together a run to seize the lead at 8-7. The teams would exchange points until the match was again knotted at 11-11. Dixie State would then score the next four points to seal the set and take the match.

In the match, the Sea Lions had eight more kills (57-49) but also committed 16 more errors than the Red Storm.

"It's pretty simple; we made 49 errors," said Gustin. "We are young and still have lots to work on, but hopefully we will work out of it."

The Point Loma volleyball team will now board a plane to Hawaii for four PacWest matchups. PLNU will take on Hawaii-Hilo on Monday (Oct. 8), Chaminade on Wednesday (Oct. 10), BYU-Hawaii on Friday (Oct. 12) and Hawaii Pacific on Saturday.