(HONOLULU) The first PacWest Volleyball Tournament since 2000 was well worth the wait.
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After PLNU Volleyball and Fresno Pacific battled through five sets in the PacWest regular season finale less than a week ago, there was little doubt that Saturday's PacWest Championship between the top two seeds in the conference tournament would go the distance once again.
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Except this time, the result went in favor of the Sunbirds, with No. 2 seed FPU edging No. 1 seed PLNU in a legendary five-set match (17-25, 27-25, 25-12, 14-25, 27-25).
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The two teams split the first four sets before a thrilling final stanza was the longest set of the night, featuring 13 combined match points.
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Point Loma had seven match points in the fifth, as
Hailey Clark had seven kills in the final set alone on her way to a career-high 18 kills.
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Saren Rogers (15 kills) and
Jill Leslie (14 kills) each had five kills of their own in the fifth, as the Sea Lions battled back valiantly from deficits of 5-8 and 10-12 in that final set.
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PLNU closed out the opening stanza on a 6-0 run to take the lead and nearly went up 2-0 in the match with set point at 24-23 in the second, only for FPU to score four of the next five points to level the match.
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The Sunbirds carried that momentum into the third, handing the Sea Lions their worst set loss of the season, before PLNUÂ responded with an equally as dominant fourth to force a historic final set that will go down in PacWest Conference folklore.
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For the third-straight match, five PLNU players had double-digit digs, with high-level defense on full display –
Macy Reynolds (29 digs),
Sophia Baugh (22 digs),
Hailey Wilson (19 digs),
Kira Federico (12 digs) and Jolyn Salas (11 digs).
Baugh and Rogers were both selected to the PacWest Championships All-Tournament Team.
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Point Loma (24-4 overall), who actually outscored Fresno Pacific on the night (112-110), entered the PacWest Championships ranked No. 1 in the West Region. The Sea Lions will find out if they stay atop the West and earn the right to host the NCAA regional (Dec. 4-6) during Monday's selection show at 4:30 p.m.
POSTMATCH PRESS CONFERENCE