SAN DIEGO–With five games left in the regular season, the Sea Lions traveled to Hawaii for arguably the toughest conference road trip. Point Loma would face the Sharks of Hawaii Pacific in their first action on the islands, a team that pushed them to five sets in their previous meeting this season. The teams would once again battle to a five-set affair, but this time the Sharks would come away victorious on their home court.
Point Loma came out on fire in the first set, putting down 20 kills on a .318 hitting percentage. The defense was holding firm as well with
Courtney Dyer totaling nine of her digs in just the first set. A late surge from the Sharks threatened the Sea Lions, but PLNU came away with the 25-22 win. Sets two and three were all HPU as Point Loma struggled with serve receive and offensive efficiency. The Sea Lions hitting percentage declined as the Sharks took sets two and three by a score of 25-21.
With a 2-1 set lead, HPU had the momentum in their favor and jumped out to a huge fourth set lead. At one point, the Sea Lions were down by nine points in the fourth set. When it would have been easy to give up the set, and match, PLNU chipped away at the HPU lead with short runs and eventually tied the set at 22-all. The set went to extra points and Point Loma was able to come away with the marathon set by a score of 32-30. PLNU carried that momentum into set five, getting out to an early 8-4 lead, but it would not be enough as the Sharks used an 8-2 run to take the lead and the momentum, ultimately leading to their 15-13 win to take the match.
Cara Keturakis had another huge night as she recorded her second triple-double of the season, the fifth of her career. The junior setter dished out 52 assists to go along with 12 kills and 10 digs.
Madie Fox went for 14 kills, tying her career-high, on an efficient .321 clip. Three other Sea Lions contributed double-digit kills as well.
Jaime Cymbaluk totaled 12 kills, while
Rachael Schlect and
Kayla Chapman each tallied 10 for the match. Schlect would also total 11 digs for her eighth double-double on the season.
Courtney Dyer notched 29 kills on the night to secure a career-best number as well.
Team Records
PLNU (16-9, 13-5 PacWest), HPU 12-13, 11-8 PacWest)
PacWest Implications
With their fifth conference loss of the season, the Sea Lions are likely out of contention for the PacWest title. The team moved up one spot to ninth in the latest NCAA Regional poll and if they can earn key wins down the stretch still have a chance at an at-large postseason berth.
Turning Point
The Sea Lions were able to force the decisive fifth set and went up 8-4 early in the set, but the Sharks went on a 8-2 run to take a two-point lead and the Sea Lions were unable to regain their momentum.
Scott's Thoughts
On the resilience of his team in the fourth set: "We decided to fight back, and we're pretty good when we choose to fight."
On Cara's triple-double: "Cara was incredible offensively."
On what his team can learn from this match: "We need to learn from the importance of preparation."
Scoring Summary
Set 1: PLNU 25, HPU 22
Set 2: HPU 25, PLNU 21
Set 3: HPU 25, PLNU 21
Set 4: PLNU 32, HPU 30
Set 5: HPU 15, PLNU 13
News and Notes.
> Dyer recorded 19 of her 29 digs in the first two sets.
> Keturakis now has five career triple-doubles, prior to her playing at PLNU only four other volleyball triple-doubles had ever been recorded.
> When these teams met in San Diego, two of the five sets went to extra points.
> The fourth set was the longest extra-point match played by the Sea Lions in the last two seasons.
> Keturakis had 16 assists in the first set alone.
Up Next
Point Loma will play in Honolulu again tomorrow night when they face the Chaminade Silverswords. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
