Entering Saturday's conference matchup with Concordia University Irvine, all seven of PLNU Women's Volleyball's victories this season came via a sweep, meaning the Sea Lions lost every time a match went beyond three sets.
 
Point Loma picked a good time to reverse that trend, claiming a five-set conference win over Concordia University Irvine on the road by set scores of 30-28, 16-25, 25-23, 11-25, 15-10.
 
"This was our first win that wasn't a sweep, so I'm pretty excited about that," Head Coach Jonathan Scott said. "Concordia is extremely well-coached and they took it to us for a while. It was a fun one."
 
The Golden Eagles actually scored more points in the match overall, 111-97, but the Sea Lions won the points that counted the most, winning their three sets by a combined nine-point margin with CUI claiming the other two by a combined 23 points.
 
PLNU's offense was rolling in the first set, with the team posting 21 kills and a .314 attack %, helping Point Loma overcome deficits of 4-0 and 23-21 and save four set points.
 
The Hicks sisters took over late in the opening stanza, with Grace Hicks and Gabby Hicks each posting a kill before combining for a block that won the Sea Lions the marathon first set with a late 3-0 run.
 
Concordia responded by winning the second, before PLNU put CUI on the brink by winning the third set. Trailing 17-16, a pair of Grace Hicks blocks sparked a 5-0 rally for Point Loma that helped the Sea Lions hold off the Golden Eagles to go up two-sets-to-one.
 
The home side was then able to force a fifth stanza with a dominant fourth set, but the visiting Sea Lions were able to bounce back to win the deciding stanza with a .345 attack % and 13 of 15 points coming via a kill.
 
With the fifth set tied at 9-9, a pair of 3-0 PLNU runs helped put the match away, as three Abigail Nua kills in that stretch put an exclamation point on the victory.
 
Nua and Grace Hicks tied for the team-lead with 17 kills, while Torina Hommes joined them in double figures with 14. Lauren Phillips dished out 46 assists, while Courtney Dyer (26 digs) and Grace Hicks (five blocks) led the defense.
 
Point Loma (8-3 overall, 3-0 PacWest), now winners of four-straight, return home to Golden Gym on Friday for a 6 p.m. conference match against Biola.