Box Score
Pictures
Keke Wang had 20 kills and Lisa Shilling added 11 as top-ranked Fresno Pacific won an important GSAC home game against one of the nation's top teams, #4 Concordia, on Saturday.
It was the most competitive home match of the season thus far, as Concordia (12-2, 4-2) looked very strong in sets one and three, but the Sunbirds (14-0, 6-0) were up to the challenge. CUI's All-American Amber Ridens had 18 kills, but hit just .189 as FPU's Mariah Mandelbaum helped limit the damage with 24 digs.
Renee Horton had a match-high 36 assists for the Eagles, while Erica Adachi and Emily Carroll finished with 28 and 26 respectively. Adachi and Michelle Johnson each added 11 digs.
“This is a great win over a very good team,” said coach Dennis Janzen afterward. “Concordia came in with a great plan and I was very pleased at the way we responded. A lot of people stepped up tonight.”
A very competitive first set saw the Eagles go up by as many as five, but the Sunbirds battled back led by Wang, who finished with nine kills in the set. A Wang kill broke a 17-17 tie to put FPU on top and, after CUI would tie it at 23, kills by Wang and Shilling would put the set away.
FPU came out strong in set two going up 9-4 and extending the lead to 18-11. CUI would come back to trim the lead to 19-16, but Shilling delivered a devastating kill that halted the Eagles' momentum and allowed the Sunbirds to reestablish control.
FPU would go on to take the set and go up 2-0, with the freshmen Karah Mitchell and Kathleen Anderson combining to block Ridens for the final point.
CUI played its best volleyball in set three, hitting .469 during the set and pulling away at the end for a 25-22 win.
The Sunbirds got a brief scare in set four when, leading 7-4, Martina Gregusova came up hobbling and was subbed off. Ridens delivered two quick kills, before Shilling got one for the Sunbirds. Gregusova would return minutes later with the score 11-9.
The Sunbirds would extend the lead to 20-16 before going on a 5-0 run, getting two kills from Wang, to end the match.
FPU hit .378 on the day, compared to .204 for CUI. Shilling hit .611 to lead FPU with zero attack errors.
“This was the first of a series of matches where we will have to bring our play to a higher level,” said Janzen. “Hopefully this match prepares us and allows us to keep getting better.”
The Sunbirds host #7 Azusa Pacific (16-2, 4-2) on Tuesday at 7 pm. The Cougars lost at home to #9 Biola this week. #2 Cal Baptist lost to Biola tonight, giving the Sunbirds sole possession of first place at 6-0 in the GSAC.
