This week
The team continues its three-match road trip this week with a visit to Concordia (CA) on Wednesday, first serve will be at 7 p.m. They will then head to St. George, Utah where they will take on the Trailblazers of Dixie State on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Follow along
If you would like to keep track of the team on this road trip, follow along with live stats or live video. Live stats will be free of charge while video stream will vary in price based on the venue. To access both live stats and live video visit plnusealions.com/gameday.
A look at the Sea Lions
The Sea Lions (7-11, 4-6 PacWest), sitting at 12th place in the conference, went 1-1 last week losing a tough match to Biola before heading on the road to snap fourth-place Fresno Pacific's four-game winning streak. The team has looked tough in the last two games with four players claiming new career-highs in their match against Biola. Alyssa Rifilato, Jaime Cymbaluk, and Emily Coleman all set career-highs for kills, Rifilato leading them with 20. Holley Persson would set a career-high and also tie the school record for digs in a match with 40. The team couldn't overcome Biola even with those outstanding performances, but carried their momentum into the matchup with Fresno Pacific where they dominated most of the match.
Holley Persson leads the conference in digs at 5.99 per set, a full dig more per set than the next player. Julia Malinas is also leading the conference in aces per set at .56, Emily Coleman is just behind her in third with .41 aces per set. Cara Keturakis sits at second in the conference with 9.41 assists per set. Persson and Malinas are each ranked nationally as well. National rankings do not include their game against Fresno Pacific, but Persson is 16th nationally for digs per set with Malinas 13th nationally for aces per set. Malinas is also tied for 15th for total service aces, with Persson at 22nd for total digs.
A look at the Eagles
The Eagles (9-8, 5-5 PacWest) got off to a slow start in conference play going 0-5 before winning their last five matches. The team is currently sitting in seventh place, tied with Hawaii Hilo and Hawaii Pacific.
Outside hitter Rachel Flynn leads their team in kills with 212, as well as points with 231.5. Madeline Deters leads the team defensively with 232 digs on the season. Flynn also sits at fifth in the conference in kills per set with 3.37. Middle blocker Amber Rose leads the team and the conference in blocks with 1.37 per set, ranking fifth nationally for blocks as well.
A look at the Trailblazers
Dixie State (7-10, 5-4 PacWest) has had an up and down season. Starting off 0-4, they had their best stretch from Sept. 22 to Oct. 6 when they went 4-1 all of those games in conference play. Dropping their two of their last three conference matchups has put them in fifth place overall but they face a down Academy of Art team on Monday before hosting the Sea Lions on Saturday.
The Trailblazers top three hitters are all within 18 total kills of each other with Lauren Gammell leading the way with 136. Hannah Doonan and Kayla Chapman each have 127 and 119 kills, respectively. Sid Brandon has anchored their defense with 295 digs this season and ranks fourth in the conference for digs per set. Chapman is also ranked in the conference for hitting percentage, swinging at .323 on the season for sixth place. Â
Next match
Next week the Sea Lions will have a tough weekend when they will face the top two teams in the conference. First, PLNU will host the No. 25 Azusa Pacific Cougars on Oct. 26th before making the quick turnaround to head to Riverside, Calif. to face undefeated No. 6 California Baptist Lancers.
