Box Score

SAN DIEGO - Tonight was a night that Kelsey Barker, Alyssa Dwyer, Marissa Ellow and the entire 2010 Sea Lions recruiting class had waited for and anticipated their entire Point Loma careers; a win over Azusa Pacific. That hope came true on Thursday night in dominant fashion as the Point Loma volleyball team swept Azusa Pacific 25-17, 25-17 and 25-12.

This was the first win for Point Loma over Azusa Pacific since 2008, a span which stretched eight matches and across two conferences. The victory also lifted PLNU (12-3) into a tie atop the Pacific West Conference standings with California Baptist and Dixie State at 6-0. The loss was the second for APU in conference as it dropped to 10-4 on the season and to 3-2 in the PacWest.

"We have a history with APU that goes a long way back," said PLNU head coach Sarah Gustin. "This was the first time our seniors had ever beat APU. That in itself was very exciting for us because they are another Christian school that came over with us from the GSAC. The win means a lot more to us than just playing well; it means beating one of our rival teams."

The Sea Lions received contributions up and down their lineup to take down the Cougars. Alyssa Dwyer registered a match-high 12 kill and a .458 hitting percentage as she had just one error in 24 swings. Heather Leavitt added 10 kills of her own and was one of three Sea Lions with three service aces in the match as PLNU won the battle of the service aces 10-2. Christin Fisher had a team-high 12 digs while Savannah Wedemeyer posted a double-double with 31 assists and 10 digs. 

"We were finally able to see us tonight the way we came into preseason," Gustin explained. "As a coaching staff we were excited from the beginning because we saw that potential. But we struggled a bit here and there with lineups and injuries. This was the first time we put a full match together than we were confident in.

We just played really well the entire time and executed the game plan very well," Gustin added. "When it all works it is very fun to watch."

Point Loma limited Azusa Pacific to just a .058 hitting percentage as the Cougars had 19 errors to their 25 kills. No Cougar reached double-figures in kills as Mattie Shelford led the team with seven. Meanwhile, PLNU posted a .330 hitting percentage as it had just eight errors over the three sets.

The road does not get any easier for the Sea Lions moving forward. They will travel to Cal Baptist (9-5, 6-0 PacWest) on Saturday with first place in the PacWest Conference on the line. The match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.