(HONOLULU) No. 5 PLNU Volleyball bounced back from losing the first set to win the next three and defeat Hawai'i Pacific on Friday night in four (23-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-20).
Abigail Nua opened the match with three-straight kills, as Point Loma took an immediate 4-0 lead, only for HPU to come back and take the opening stanza.
The Sea Lions responded with a dominant set two, holding the Sharks to a .065 hitting % in the second. PLNU won the final three points of the set to win by double digits, as
Sophia Baugh officially evened the match by winning a joust at the net.
Then in the third, Nua had three kills in a 6-0 Point Loma run that put the visitors up 15-11. HPU got no closer than two from there on as Baugh once again closed out the set, this time with a clever dump, to give the Sea Lions a 2-1 match advantage.
PLNU then served three of its eight aces in the fourth stanza, with
Kira Federico opening the set with an ace and
Finn Higginbotham clinching the match with one of her own.
The Sea Lions' .400 hitting % in the fourth set was their highest of the match.
Nua led all players with 25 kills, while
Saren Rogers added 16 and
Jill Leslie had nine.
Sophia Baugh dished out 51 assists. Defensively,
Macy Reynolds (18 digs) led three Sea Lions with double-digit digs, including Federico (14 digs) and Baugh (10 digs).
Point Loma (17-2 overall, 6-0 PacWest) concludes its Hawai'i trip on Saturday at defending conference champions Chaminade (12-11, 6-1). First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. HST / 9 p.m. PST.
POSTMATCH INTERVIEW
