SAN DIEGO–The Sea Lions were back in Golden Gym on Saturday evening hosting Fresno Pacific. Coming off of a five-set marathon in Irvine on Friday night, Point Loma had a quick turnaround to face a tough Sunbirds team. Winning a point was a battle for each team, and it was difficult for either team to find a significant advantage. Only set two was decided by more than two points (25-22), but it was the Sea Lions who came away on top after another five-set thriller.
 
Both teams struggled to find an early rhythm offensively with errors dominating the first set. The Sea Lions came away with the first set win, holding off a late 6-1 run by the Sunbirds. FPU found a way to grind out a set two win, capitalizing on late errors by Point Loma. In a similar fashion, PLNU won the last four points to take set three and put themselves in position to take the match with a 2-1 lead. The Sunbirds had no plans to be sent home and fought their way to a 25-23 win to force the decisive fifth set. The Sea Lions were able to put the game away in set five, hitting a match-high .250 in the set.
 
Rachael Schlect put on a dominating offensive show as she swung for a match-high 21 kills to go along with 15 digs and three block assists. Cara Keturakis also notched double-double on the night with 36 assists and 11 digs, and flirted with a triple-double once again as she put down seven kills. Blocking was huge for Point Loma as they had five different players notch at least four blocks on the night. Emily Coleman led the way with five blocks in only three sets of action.

Team Records
PLNU (11-7, 8-3 PacWest), FPU (4-15, 3-7 PacWest)

PacWest Implications
Point Loma moves to 8-3 in PacWest play on the season while the Sunbirds drop to 3-7. This keeps the Sea Lions in fourth place, with a full game lead over fifth place Chaminade.
 
Turning Point
With PLNU down 3-1 in the fifth set, a questionable call gave the Sunbirds a three-point advantage. Instead of deflating, the Sea Lions rallied for five straight points to push the momentum in their favor and close the match with the 15-13 win.
 
Coach and Player Interview


Scoring Summary
Set 1: PLNU 25, FPU 23
Set 2: FPU 25, PLNU 23
Set 3: PLNU 25, FPU 22
Set 4: FPU 25, PLNU 23
Set 5: PLNU 15, FPU 13

News and Notes. 
> This was Schlect's third match with 20 or more kills. She also notched her seventh double-double of the season. 
> The 13 total blocks posted by the Sea Lions was a season-high for the team. 
> The largest lead for either team in any set was a five-point advantage held by Point Loma in set one. 
> After serving three more aces in tonight's match, Cymbaluk now leads the PacWest in aces per set with 0.41. 
> Schlect currently leads the conference in total kills with 225 on the season, which puts her only 53 kills away from surpassing each PLNU hitter's total from last season. 
> The Sea Lions are just two wins away from surpassing their 2017 win totals for the conference and the season. 

Up Next
The Sea Lions will head back to the Bay Area next weekend as they travel to Holy Names and Academy of Art. The team will face Holy Names on Friday at 7 p.m. and Academy of Art at 1 p.m. on Saturday.