SAN RAFAEL, Calif.–Coming off of a tough week where Point Loma went 1-2 at home, the team made the trip to the Bay Area where they faced off with Dominican (CA) on Friday night. While the Penguins gave the Sea Lions a tough test, PLNU was able to come away with the win in four sets.
 
Dominican came out ready to play in set one, the team was firing on all cylinders and found ways to capitalize on several Point Loma mistakes. The Penguins hit .500 in set one and ran away with the set winning 25-16. The Sea Lions were not phased as they showed the necessary resiliency to fight back in set two. The team put down 18 kills in the second set, but they held their own defensively as well with 22 digs, with Celeste Friesen coming up with 12 of those dig herself leading to the 25-15 win.
 
The second set victory turned the momentum in Point Loma's favor as they kept their intensity high. The team hit a match-high .400 in the third set and came away with another 18 kills on their way to the 25-16 victory. Leading 2-1, PLNU put the match away in the fourth set but not without a fight from the Penguins. The Sea Lions struggled with hitting errors in the set, but again used their defense to stay in the match and earn points when it mattered, coming away with the set and the match on a 25-19 victory.
 
Cara Keturakis controlled an efficient offense, dishing out 43 assists as well as tallying 17 digs and six kills. Celeste Friesen notched a double-double for the first time this season totaling 24 digs as well as coming up with 13 assists. Rachael Schlect led all players with 16 kills on an efficient .297 hitting percentage. Both Julia Malinas and Jaime Cymbaluk notched 12 kills for the match, with Malinas leading the Sea Lions with a .360 hitting percentage.

Team Records
PLNU (8-7, 5-3 PacWest), DUC (4-8, 2-5 PacWest)

Scott's Thoughts:
On keeping the momentum in their favor: "Dominican is always a tough team to play because their fiesty and they really make you earn your points. It didn't look like we were willing to earn our points at the start but I'm proud of the way we were able to figure our opponent out and fight for every point."

On the key to the team's success tonight: "It was staying in the moment, even when the moment sucked." 

On the importance of earning a key PacWest win: "There is no denying we have kind of been up and down and we are just trying to right that ship and keep it in a steady direction. We want to stay in that direction to get where we want to go."

On getting contributions from a number of hitters: "That's what this game is supposed to be, a team game. We have had a few matches where we have had to rely on one or two arms and that's not going to last very long. This is the way it should be."

Player Interview:


Scoring Summary
Set 1: DUC 25, PLNU 16
Set 2: PLNU 25, DUC 15
Set 3: PLNU 25, DUC 16
Set 4: PLNU 25, DUC 19

News and Notes. 
> The Sea Lions totaled 71 digs on the match compared to 52 for the Penguins. 
> This was Keturakis' sixth match with 40 or more assists, she only had eight total matches with those numbers last season. 
> Schlect leads the PacWest with 179 total kills. 
> This was the fifth match of the season where at least three Sea Lions totaled double-digit kills, matching the total amount of times it happened last season.
> The Sea Lions also had three players record double-digit digs, Keturakis, Friesen, and Courtney Dyer. 

Up Next
The Sea Lions have a quick turnaround as they head to Notre Dame de Namur tomorrow to face the Argonauts. First serve is schedules for 6 p.m.