Box Score

Top-ranked Fresno Pacific struggled out of the gate, but found its rhythm offensively in the final two sets to down #6 Cal Baptist 3-1 (31-29, 16-25, 25-19, 25-16) in Riverside on Saturday.

The Sunbirds improved to 16-0, 8-0 in conference play. Martina Gregusova had 19 kills, Erica Adachi had 26 assists and eight digs, and Mariah Mandelbaum added 25 digs in the win. The Lancers fall to 19-2, 6-2 in the GSAC.

"In sets one and two, we weren't doing what we needed to do offensively. We were letting their block affect us," said coach Dennis Janzen.

"I was real pleased with how we steadied out in the last two sets. I'm proud of the kids for how they handled the difficulties and battled through the tough stretches. I think we got a lot better as a team in this game."

FPU fought back from set-point three different times in the first set, getting the last three points after trailing 29-28 to inch out a win. A kill by Gregusova and service ace from Adachi gave FPU the last two points.

After a dismal second set, which saw the Sunbirds get out-hit .500 to .062, the team bounced back to hold the Lancers to a zero hitting percentage in set three.

FPU went on to hit .370 in the fourth set, by far its best of the day, to seal its 10th consecutive win over the Lancers. Keke Wang added 13 kills and Lisa Shilling had nine in the victory.

The Sunbirds travel to Santa Clarita on Thursday for a 7 pm match with The Master's (5-11, 0-7).