Box Score SAN DIEGO - Golden Gymnasium was rocking in the stands and on the court on Thursday night as the Point Loma volleyball team defeated California Baptist 25-23, 20-25, 25-17 and 25-19 in front of a pink clad student section as part of the Side-Out Foundation's Dig Pink campaign.
With the victory, PLNU is now a half-match up for first place in the Pacific West Standings at 6-0 (9-5 overall). This was also the second straight loss for the Lancers, which fell to 8-6 on the season and two games off the pace in the PacWest standings at 4-2.
Heather Leavitt recorded a double-double with a match-high 20 kills and 14 digs but it was a team effort that led Point Loma to the victory over its longtime conference foe. Five Sea Lions had eight or more kills in the match including freshman middle blocker
Bethany Mandon who posted a career-best 11 kills with just one error for a .385 hitting percentage. Fellow middle blocker
Alyssa Dwyer added nine kills and a .300 hitting percentage, while
Briana Vieth and
Delaney McCraney chipped in with eight kills apiece.
It was
Savannah Wedemeyer that was the distributor for the Sea Lions all night. She had 49 assists in the four sets as PLNU posted assists on 56 of 58 kills.
Christin Fisher also added 19 digs and Mandon paced the squad with four blocks.
"I don't know if it was emotion or focus tonight but there was definitely something different about this match, and really this week," Point Loma head coach
Jonathan Scott explained. "We prepared better than we had all season and it showed."
Point Loma had at least 12 kills in each of the four sets, and outhit CBU in all three sets it won. In the first set PLNU fell behind 19-18 before rattling off four points to reclaim the lead and then hang on for the 25-23 set win. In the second set it was CBU which came back late to earn a 25-20 victory as the Lancers scored six of the final eight points.
The third set proved to be the difference maker as Point Loma would seize the momentum and never look back. The set was tied at 12-12 before PLNU went on a 13-5 run to close out the set. PLNU would close out the match in the fourth set as they got up by as many as seven and hung on for the 25-19 win.
"Cal Baptist is always really good and they compete hard," Scott explained. "I am very proud of the way we competed tonight when we were playing well and at times when we weren't playing well."
The Point Loma volleyball team donned pink jerseys tonight and wore the initials of a loved one affected by cancer on the sleeves of their warmup shirts. The Point Loma Athletic Department also collected donations for the Dig Pink Campaign. For more information visit
www.plnusealions.com/digpink.
"The Dig Pink campaign is something that has been embraced by the volleyball community at all levels so here at Point Loma we are happy to be part of something bigger than ourselves," said Scott.
The Sea Lions will now go on the road to face Dixie State on Saturday, Oct. 4 at Noon (PST). The matchup will feature two of the top teams in the PacWest as PLNU is currently sitting at 6-0 and Dixie State at 5-0.
"We have an extremely short turnaround as we will be loading the bus in the morning to drive to Dixie State and play a possible undefeated conference team on their home floor," added Scott.
