(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Volleyball bounced back from a four-set loss to Lewis (29-31, 25-17, 20-25, 15-25) on Saturday morning to sweep Cal State San Marcos (25-10, 25-22, 25-13) at night to finish off the Seaside Invitational with a winning record.
"To feel good, you want to win the last one," Head Coach
Jonathan Scott said. "We got back to our identity. Lewis put us out of sorts. They're a great team but we also let that happen, so I'm proud of our girls for getting back to who we are."
In a closely-contested matchup between two teams receiving votes in the AVCA/Taraflex Division II Coaches Poll, Lewis prevailed in a marathon first set, saving three set points.
An 8-0 run late in set two helped Point Loma even the match before the visiting Flyers won the next two sets to give the Sea Lions their first loss of the season.
PLNU responded in the nightcap against CSUSM, racing out to a 6-1 lead in the first set, helped by three
Anna Massari kills.
The hosts then scored the final eight points of the set, nearly holding the Cougars to single digits in the opening stanza. Twelve of PLNU's 25 points in the first set came on
Torina Hommes' serving.
The second stanza was tied at 21-21 before
Abigail Nua's thunderous kill put the Sea Lions ahead two-sets-to-none.
Point Loma then ensured the match would end in a sweep, with
Macy Reynolds serving three aces in a four-point stretch to all but seal the deal.
Nua led the Sea Lions in kills in both matches, posting 15 and 13 respectively, while nearly recording two double-doubles with 11 and nine digs.
Massari was a force at the net yet again, particularly in the second match with six blocks, to go along with eight kills.
Freshman
Mariah Hughes played her best match in her young Sea Lions career against CSUSM, tallying seven kills on just 13 attempts.
Point Loma (2-1 overall) will now play in the CPP/APU Tournament next weekend, beginning on Thursday with a neutral-site match against San Francisco State at 3 p.m.
"This is a talented team and we've got depth," Scott said. "We've also got some inexperience that just needs to get out there. You don't know how to handle pressure until you start to handle pressure. I'm excited to see where it goes."
