SAN DIEGO - The crowning match of the 2015 Seaside Invitational turned out to be better than anyone could have expected as crosstown rivals Point Loma and UC San Diego battled to a fifth set and extra points where the Sea Lions earned the victory, 17-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-18 and 20-18.
 
PLNU came from behind throughout the fifth set and the match to start the year at 4-0. The loss was the first of the season for the Tritons (3-1).
 
Heather Leavitt led PLNU with 35 kills, to tie for the sixth in the Sea Lions history for kills in a single-match. She posted an incredible .370 hitting percentage and made only five mishits en route to her 35-kill performance. She added 24 digs and now has recorded a double-double in all four matches.
 
"We relied on her so heavily in this match in particular with the way the matchups worked out," said Point Loma head coach Jonathan Scott. "She is a testament to Point Loma volleyball and the work ethic we go for. She was an All-American last year and I can easily say she is a lot better this year. It is amazing."
 
Savannah Wedemeyer had the third-highest assist match of her career as she passed out 61 balls that led directly to kills for the Sea Lions. She also added 20 digs and three service aces. Christin Fisher came through with a match-high 36 digs and 11 assists for a double-double of her own. Kelli LeClair added 11 kills and 17 digs. Cayleen Harty tacked on 11 kills and tied for the team-lead with four blocks.
 
After dropping the first set, Point Loma had to battle to extra points in the second, including coming back from a 22-20 deficit, to win the set 27-25 and tie up the match. UCSD then edged PLNU 25-23 in set three before Point Loma put together a convincing 25-18 win to force a decisive fifth set.
 
The fifth set can only be described as an emotional roller coaster on both sides with 10 ties and four lead changes in the set. The Sea Lions' backs were against the wall after UCSD scored two straight at the 10-10 mark to take the late lead. PLNU did not panic and scored four straight points to take the 14-12 lead. The Tritons did not go down easy and took the next two points to force extra points. PLNU got the match to game-point three times and the third time proved the charm when UCSD's attack attempt sailed out of bounds and Golden Gymnasium exploded in cheers.
 
"It is pretty cool looking back that we were able to win them all," Scott explained. "Our goal was not to win four matches this weekend, it was to win the next match, and somehow we did it four times.
 
"We talk a lot about winning clean and winning dirty," the second year head coach continued. "We try to win clean but sometimes you win dirty by necessity; and this was a filthy one."
 
Point Loma will now travel to Ellensburg, Wash., next week to compete in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover Challenge, which involves the top 4 teams from both conferences (according to 2014 records). PLNU will face Central Washington on Thursday, Alaska Anchorage on Friday and both Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.