This week
The Point Loma volleyball team will continue its six-match homestand when it hosts Academy of Art on Wednesday and Dominican (CA) on Thursday as part of the Sea Lions' Dig Pink Match on Power Night. Both these matches start at 7:00 p.m. PLNU will close out its homestand with Holy Names on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 5:00 p.m.
 
Follow along
All the matches will be available for fans to follow on live stats and live video. Live stats will be free of charge while video stream will be $8.95 on a pay-per-view basis at home. To access both live stats and live video visit plnusealions.com/gameday.
 
Dig Pink Night
The Point Loma volleyball team will host its annual Dig Pink Night to raise knowledge and support for breast cancer awareness. The first 300 Point Loma students in attendance will receive a free pink t-shirt to promote ongoing awareness. The PLNU Athletic Department will also be donating $1 for every ticket sold to the Side-out Foundation, the driving force behind the Dig Pink campaign.
 
Power Night
For the second straight Thursday the PLNU Athletic Department is inviting all the women of Point Loma (men you are included too) to Power Night. Once again there will be a drawing from Yoga 6, giveaways from Chick-fil-A, Miguel's Cocina, and more, along with a number of activities, including manicures, designed to make it a special night for all the females at PLNU.
 
A look at the Sea Lions
Point Loma stumbled during the first part of its homestand, dropping two of its first three matches to fall to 8-8 on the season and 3-5 in the PacWest. PLNU opened the week with a three-set sweep of Hawaii Pacific, which came into the game 5-0 in conference. However, the Sea Lions dropped a five-set heartbreaker to defending PacWest champions BYU-Hawaii on Thursday and then fell to Hawaii Hilo in four sets. The loss to BYU-Hawaii snapped a 20-match home winning streak for the Sea Lions and it was the first time they had lost back-to-back matches at Golden Gymnasium since 2012.
 
Despite some bumps PLNU has many student-athletes listed among the PacWest leaders in a variety of categories. Heather Leavitt leads the PacWest and ranks fourth in NCAA Division II in kills. She is listed nationally in the top 16 in four different categories. Check the 'Leavitt amongst nation's elite' section below for more details. Savannah Wedemeyer has held the PacWest lead for assists per set for two straight weeks. She is averaging 11.29 assists per set. She is also ninth in aces with 0.31. Christin Fisher has climbed to third in the PacWest with 4.97 digs per set. Bree Vieth is sixth in aces with 0.33 per set and Bethany Mandon is 10th in blocks (0.85).
 
As a team, Point Loma leads the PacWest in digs (19.07), assists (14.10) and kills (14.80). The Sea Lions are also third in hitting percentage (.221) and fifth in blocks (1.92).
 
Leavitt amongst nation's elite
Heather Leavitt is one of the top outside hitters and offensive threats in the country. She is leading the PacWest and ranked fourth in NCAA Division II with 4.71 kills per set. She is 16th in total kills and her 5.11 points per set rank her fifth. Even more impressively, Leavitt is just 15th in the country (and third in the PacWest) in attack attempts per set.
 
A look at the Urban Knights
Academy of Art is 6-9 on the season and 2-5 in the PacWest. ARTU recently snapped a six-game slide with home victories over Holy Names and Notre Dame de Namur, for its first PacWest wins of the season.  Melissa Brum leads the team and ranks 12th in the PacWest with 3.26 kills per set. Stine Raben is right behind her with 3.16 kills per set. Rachael Smith is the team's setter and is averaging 9.48 assists per set. Margaret Winkler is third in the PacWest with 1.14 blocks per set. As a team, ARTU is 13th in the PacWest in both kills (11.34) and hitting percentage (.171).
 
A look at the Penguins
Dominican (CA) is 5-8 on the season and 2-5 in the PacWest. The Penguins dropped their last match to Fresno Pacific 3-1 after winning their previous two matches. Aimee Steinwand leads the team and ranks fourth in the PacWest with 3.98 kills per set. Amanda Lee is ranked second in digs per set with 5.44 and Hannah Smith is sixth in assists (9.82). As a team, DUC is 12th in the PacWest in kills (11.54) and hitting percentage (.172).
 
A look at the Hawks
Holy Names is 2-14 on the season and 0-7 in the PacWest. The Hawks will be looking to snap a three-match losing streak when they play CBU and CUI earlier in the week before facing PLNU. Kaylyn Lackey leads HNU with 2.41 kills per set. Melissa Munley is fifth in aces with 0.35 per set and Heather Emory is 11th in assists (8.16). As a team, Holy Names is 14th in the PacWest in kills (10.4) and hitting percentage (.132).
 
Next week
After hosting three teams from the Bay Area this week, the Sea Lions will turn right around and travel there for a pair of matches next week. PLNU will face Academy of Art on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 and Notre Dame de Namur on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m.