FPU 3, Hope International 1.

Box Score

Fresno Pacific had some initial trouble at Hope International in the Sunbirds' second game of the day, but FPU settled down to defeat the Royals by scores of 25-15, 21-25, 25-22, 25-13. FPU (24-0, 15-0 GSAC) has now won its last 65 matches.

Martina Gregusova had a great all-around performance with 17 kills and 14 digs. Keke Wang added 15 kills and Karah Mitchell had 12 for the Sunbirds. Mariah Mandelbaum led all players with 28 digs, while Erica Adachi dished out 29 assists.

The Royals (5-14, 2-13 GSAC) had three players in double figure kills, a rare accomplishment against the Sunbirds, led by Kassen Boesel's 11.

After cruising to victory in set one, the Royals surprised the Sunbirds by taking set two and holding FPU to a .200 attack percentage. FPU responded in set three, never trailing in a 25-22 win.

The Sunbirds came out swinging in set four to put the match away, taking the lead 13-6 and then 21-9 before closing it out 25-13.

Emily Lyon had a match-high 35 assists and Jocelyn Moya added 16 digs for the Royals, who became the first team to take a set from the Sunbirds since Cal Baptist on October 2nd.

FPU will get a true test next weekend, when the Sunbirds head back to Southern California for matches against two top-10 teams. They face #3 Texas-Brownsville in a non-conference match on Friday night, before facing #10 Concordia in Irvine on Saturday.

FPU 3, Vanguard 0.

Box Score

FPU had little trouble with Vanguard on Saturday, coasting past the Lions by scores of 25-14, 25-15 and 25-21.

Martina Gregusova had 13 kills and 12 digs for the Sunbirds, Michelle Johnson added 11 kills and nine digs, and Karah Mitchell had nine kills. Erica Adachi posted 21 assists and Mariah Mandelbaum had 18 digs in the victory.

FPU was dominant from the beginning, getting 19 kills in the first set and committing just one attack error. The Sunbirds hit .375 on the day compared to the Lions' .127. Vanguard falls to 13-10, 5-9 GSAC with the loss. Lisa Morgan had 10 kills and Alexandra Leja added 23 assists to lead the Lions.