HONOLULU - For the second time this season the Point Loma volleyball team swept Hawaii Pacific, taking down the Sharks 25-21, 25-23 and 25-15 on Friday, Nov. 13.
 
The No. 9 regionally ranked Sea Lions (18-9) have now won back-to-back road matches via a sweep and are now tied for third place in the PacWest standings with California Baptist at 12 -6. Both teams are just two games back of PacWest leader Dixie State with two matches left in the regular season. Hawaii Pacific, which began PacWest play at 5-0 before losing at PLNU on Oct. 5, are now 8-9 in the PacWest  (10th place) and 13-12 overall.
 
Heather Leavitt had a double-double with 17 kills and 20 digs. She hit .310 in the three sets and helped Point Loma win the hitting percentage battle .268 to .192. Point Loma also had a 5-1 advantage in aces, led by three from Bree Vieth. Christin Fisher added 22 digs and Savannah Wedemeyer had 36 assists. Kelli LeClair chipped in with eight kills and 15 digs.
 
The match began with both teams posting their most efficient set, but PLNU grabbed the early lead and never relinquished it. They carried that through into the end of the second set when the Sea Lions scored three of the final four points to close out a set that was tied at 22-22. In the third set, PLNU never trailed and LeClair led the team on an 8-0 run to win the set and seal the match.
 
"Tonight was a really tough battle mentally," said PLNU head coach Jonathan Scott. "I'm proud that we were able to finish the tight ones with great mental focus."
 
Elizabeth Culpepper paced HPU with 15 kills, and added 10 digs.  Tenika Wentworth also posted a double-double with 32 assists and 16 digs.
 
Point Loma will complete its stretch of three matches in three days in Hawaii when it faces Chaminade on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 9:00 p.m. (PST).