Box Score

SAN DIEGO - The Point Loma volleyball team received its first big test of the early season on Saturday (Sept. 7) against Cal State Dominguez Hills and responded valiantly by coming from behind to win in five sets, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23 and 15-12, on the final day of the Seaside Invitational.

This was the third straight win for Point Loma (3-0) to open the season. This was also the first loss of the season for CSUDH who picked up two wins on the opening day of the Seaside Invitational.

PLNU found itself down 2-1 heading into the fourth set. The Sea Lions had a chance to take the third set as it was tied at 18-18 but CSUDH scored five straight points and held on for the 25-23 set victory.

The Sea Lions would take a lesson from that third set about the importance of closing both a set and a match strong. In the fourth set with the score tied at 20-20, Point Loma forced the Toros into back-to-back hitting errors, and then got a kill from Delaney McCraney and two from Heather Leavitt to close the set with a 25-23 win and send the match to a fifth and deciding set.

In the fifth set it was the Sea Lions that came out as the aggressors and went on top 5-2 thanks to three kills by Leavitt. CSUDH would fight back to tie the match at 5-5 and then again at 10-10. Last season the Sea Lions went just 3-7 in the fifth set but this time, and with the additional year of experience under their belt, they would not be denied the victory as they closed out the set on kills by Leavitt and McCraney.   

"That was a big hurdle for us to overcome," explained Point Loma head coach Sarah Gustin. "First just because that is something we needed to fix from last year and second to win our first five-set match of the year was huge for us. We knew we could play better than we did early, as we were in and out of our focus, but we put it together at the right time and came out with a win at the end."

Heather Leavitt led Point Loma with a career-best 21 kills. The sophomore from Mesa, Ariz., also added 13 digs to become one of four Sea Lions to record a double-double in the contest. Kelli LeClair helped PLNU on both offense and defense as she posted 16 kills and 16 digs. McCraney recorded her second straight double-double with 11 kills and a team-high 18 digs. Setter Savannah Wedemeyer shattered her previous career-high in assists by 17 as the sophomore dished out 55 helpers during the five sets.

"Heather is having a great tournament," added Gustin. "She came back from the summer with a new focus and you can tell by the way she plays. Honestly it is exactly what we needed. It makes us a much more of a balanced team."

The Sea Lions will return to action at 7:00 p.m. to take on Texas A&M International to close out the 2013 Seaside Invitational.