SAN DIEGO - The Point Loma women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on Friday at the D2 West Regional Showcase, hosted by Cal State San Bernardino. PLNU opened the day with a sweep of Cal State San Marcos, before falling in four sets in the nightcap to Simon Fraser.
 
Match 1
The Sea Lions' defense was dominant, and they played solid offensively to take all three sets from Cal State San Marcos, 25-22, 25-20 and 25-22, in the opening match of the Showcase.
 
PLNU hit .242 over the three sets while holding CSUSM to a .092 hitting clip. Jaime Cymbaluk paced the way for the Sea Lions with a match-best 10 kills and a .381 hitting percentage. Torina Hommes added eight kills on just 17 swings, and Grace Hicks chipped in with seven kills.
 
On the other side of the ball, it was junior Madie Fox that led the way. The Roseburg, Ore., native had a career-high nine blocks, including two solo blocks, to set the tone for the Sea Lions' effort at the net as PLNU went on to outblock the Cougars 14-6 in the three-set match. Courtney Dyer posted 11 digs from her libero position to help PLNU on the backline.
 
Match 2
It looked like the Sea Lions were going to keep momentum on their side from their win earlier in the day after they opened the match against Simon Fraser with a 25-21 win. However, the Clan turned a switch between the first and second sets and went on to win three straight sets, 25-16, 25-13 and 25-11, to earn the match victory.
 
It was Simon Fraser's serve and efficient attack that was the difference in this match. SFU had 12 service aces to the two for PLNU. The Clan also had at least 13 kills in all four sets, including final three sets in which they hit over .379 each time and did not make more than three hitting errors. Kirsten Pinkney led three SFU student-athletes in kills with 15.
 
Madie Fox led Point Loma with 13 kills and a .391 hitting percentage. Alexis Soncrant had a career-high 11 digs to tie Courtney Dyer for the team lead. Cara Keturakis had 31 assists in the loss.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (4-2, 0-0 PacWest), Cal State San Marcos (5-3, 0-0 CCAA), Simon Fraser (4-3, 0-0 GNAC)
 
Scott's Thoughts
On the match against CSU San Marcos: "Cal State San Marcos is a really good team, and they have just had some misfortune in this tournament. They easily could be 3-0, but fortunately, for us, we were able to get in front of them. We played pretty clean volleyball this match. It was a good one for us."
 
On the match against Simon Fraser: "Both of our losses this year have been eerily similar. What is comes down to more than anything is experience and confidence. Unfortunately, those two things go hand in hand. When you don't have one you hope the other will take over, but we didn't necessarily do well with it in this one."
 
On the Sea Lions' block: "Coach Scott Hartley and I have been reflecting, and we made an intentional effort to make that part of our identity. He has done a really great job in our practices of making us better in that area. That first match was awesome."
 
On the D2 West Region Showcase: "Cal State San Bernardino is the clear favorite. They are as good as ever, but the other five are all really good. All five teams can beat the others. It is pretty interesting how the matchups are working."
 
News and Notes
> Madie Fox's previous career-high for blocks was seven
> PLNU is now 1-2 all-time against Simon Fraser and 5-2 against Cal State San Marcos
> Point Loma is 4-0 in matches in which it hits at least .200, and 0-2 in matches it hits below that mark
>  The Sea Lions have a winning record against Cal State San Bernardino in their all-time series (6-3)
 
Up Next
PLNU will continue play in the NCAA D2 West Region Showcase on Saturday, Sept. 14 with two matches. Point Loma will open against Alaska Anchorage at 11 a.m., before facing the host, Cal State San Bernardino, at 5 p.m.