(SAN DIEGO) No. 2 PLNU Volleyball won a second PacWest championship in three seasons with a thrilling five-set victory (27-29, 27-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-13) over No. 9 Fresno Pacific on Senior Day.
Needing a win in its regular season finale to clinch a share of the conference crown with the previously unbeaten Sunbirds, the Sea Lions overturned an 8-10 deficit in the fifth set to earn the No. 1 seed in next week's PacWest Championships.
One point separated the teams as they traded the first four sets, with no set being decided by more than three points.
PLNU had set point in the opening stanza at 27-26 before FPU scored the next three to take an early lead, but the host Sea Lions then responded by winning set two despite a 7-0 run by the Sunbirds.
Hailey Clark's kill closed out the third to put PLNU ahead 2-1 in the match, only for FPU to answer back and force a fifth.
Jill Leslie gave Point Loma a slim 8-7 advantage at the changeover in the final stanza, before back-to-back kills from
Saren Rogers helped PLNU go from down 8-10 to up 11-10.
Fresno Pacific (23-1 overall, 11-1 PacWest) tied the set once again at 13-13 before Clark's kill gave the Sea Lions match point, which they converted with an emphatic block from
Finn Higginbotham and Leslie.
Saren Rogers led all players with 25 kills, as four Sea Lions reached double digits in the category along with
Kyra Miles (16 kills), Clark (16 kills) and Leslie (14 kills).
Sophia Baugh dished out a career-high 67 assists, while senior libero
Macy Reynolds (32 digs) led five Sea Lions with double-digit digs, including
Hailey Wilson (18 digs), Baugh (17 digs),
Kira Federico (15 digs) and
Jolyna Salas (12 digs).
Miles (8 blocks) and Higginbotham (6 blocks) both set new career-highs in total blocks.
Point Loma (23-3 overall, 11-1 PacWest) will play No. 4 seed Hawai'i Hilo in the PacWest Tournament semifinals on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. HT / 6:30 p.m. PT.
POSTMATCH PRESS CONFERENCE
