(SAN DIEGO) No. 17 PLNU Volleyball clinched the outright PacWest championship with a three-set sweep (25-13, 25-23, 25-20) of Westmont on Saturday afternoon in Golden Gym.
Ellie Nichols was the lone Sea Lions senior to be honored on Senior Day, and Point Loma gave her the perfect send-off with an outright conference title after the team clinched at least a share of it with Wednesday's win over Biola.
Nichols had seven kills on a very efficient .313 hitting, helping PLNU win its 13th consecutive PacWest match to close out the regular season while simultaneously ending Westmont's six-match winning streak.
The Sea Lions came out swinging, hitting .375 as a team in the opening stanza.
Hailey Clark had three of her eight kills in the first four PLNU points, before a 5-0 run extended the Sea Lions' lead to double digits on their way to winning the first set by 12.
Point Loma then overcame a 10-16 deficit in the second set, with Kaityn Cabral's ace setting up set point at 24-23 before Clark's kill clinched the second stanza for the Sea Lions.
PLNU carried that momentum into the third set, jumping out to an immediate 5-0 advantage and then 10-3. Point Loma led by no fewer than three the rest of the way, as Clark and
Saren Rogers combined for a block to seal the sweep.
Gianna Callari (.481) recorded a match-high 14 kills, while
Kira Federico led all players with 22 digs.
Sophia Baugh (34 assists, 9 digs) just missed out on a double-double.
Point Loma (21-5 overall, 16-2 PacWest) will now be the No. 1 seed in next week's PacWest Championships, hosted by Vanguard in Costa Mesa on Friday and Saturday.
PLNU will play in the semifinals against No. 4 seed Hawai'i Hilo at 4:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to Saturday's championship at 6 p.m. against either No. 2 seed Concordia or No. 3 seed Biola.
POSTMATCH PRESS CONFERENCE
