SAN DIEGO - Courtney Dyer's record-setting, 41-dig performance helped power the Point Loma volleyball team to a five-set victory over No. 22 nationally-ranked Regis on Friday night at the Seaside Invitational. (Sept. 3)
 
PLNU dropped the first set but quickly bounced back to take the second and third sets. Regis, a Final Four team in 2019, responded with a 25-21 win in the fourth to push the match to a decisive fifth game. This is when Dyer and the Sea Lions were at their best.
 
In the fifth set, Point Loma jumped out to a 5-0 lead and pushed it to 9-2 before the Rangers could even blink. During this stretch, the Sea Lions' defense was on full display as Regis could not get a ball to touch the floor. The defense, led by Dyer, made numerous one-armed dives and saved multiple balls that ricocheted off teammates to help fuel Point Loma's run. The junior libero recorded seven of her 41 digs during this most crucial stretch of the match.
 
Regis did put on a little run to cut the fifth set to 11-9 but the Sea Lions would not let them get any closer as they benefitted from a pair of service errors from the Rangers before Anna Massari closed out the match with a pair of kills.
 
Massari and Alexis Soncrant paced the Sea Lions in the match with eight kills apiece. Massari also had a match-best seven blocks. Torina Hommes added seven kills and freshman Lauren Phillips posted a team-leading 13 assists. Rachel Siurek paced three Rangers in double-figures with 13 kills.
 
Team Records
Point Loma (1-1, 0-0 PacWest) Regis (1-2, 0-0 RMAC)
 
Turning Point
The Sea Lions sprint out of the gate in the fifth set gave them the momentum and the cushion they needed to earn the win.
 
Words from coach Jonathan Scott
On the win: "We showed that we have heart, we showed that we have attitude and we showed that we have grit. Those are all things that are extremely hard to teach, and now we know we have it."
 
On Dyer's record-setting performance: "Courtney is normally pretty spectacular but she went extra in this one. I told her as a freshman that she would break this record and it happened tonight."
 
On Regis: "The very first point of the match probably took 50-60 seconds. It was an extremely long rally and it showed us that they are a feisty team with heart and we would be in for a long one."
 
On his team: "This team has the strange ability to adapt and compete, and that is what it took tonight."
  
Interview with Courtney Dyer

 
Scoring Summary
Set 1: Regis 25, PLNU 19
Set 2: PLNU 25, Regis 18
Set 3: PLNU 25, Regis 22
Set 4: Regis 25, PLNU 21
Set 5: PLNU 15, Regis 12
 
News and notes
> The previous record of 40 digs was shared by Holley Persson and Christin Fisher
> PLNU won the game even with Regis posting 22 more kills (58-36)
> The Sea Lions a combined 33 errors in the match while the Rangers had 61
> It was Point Loma's first win over a top 25 team since taking down No. 15 Azusa Pacific on Oct. 18, 2019

Up Next
Point Loma will close out the Seaside Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 4 with a pair of matches. They will open against Simon Fraser at 9:30 a.m., before facing the nation's No. 3 ranked team, Cal State San Bernardino, to complete the tournament at 5 p.m.