The Fresno Pacific women's water polo team started off its home schedule on the right foot, handily defeating Azusa Pacific 14-5 on Friday night at Sunnyside High School. The Sunbirds combined a great offensive effort with a solid defensive front to effectively shut down their GSAC rival.

"It feels great to have this home opener," said coach Bryan Suhovy. "We needed this. The girls are starting to see how the program works. Things are clicking. It's really nice."

Katie Rayner and Brittney Guerrero led the Sunbird offensive effort, scoring three goals apiece. Krista Loper and Jenn Wolter added two goals each while Malory Rettig, Melissa Perry, Michelle Kaplan and Jennifer Cobb all had one. Dani Mortimer posted nine saves on the night, including a three meter block.

After the first quarter of play, the game looked as if it might be a close one, with the score at 1-1. In the second, however, FPU unleashed a massive scoring effort, scoring six goals to go up 7-2 at half.

In the third, the Sunbirds would score five goals and they added two more in the fourth to seal off the 14-5 win.

"We played patient on offense and kept a tight defense," said captain Perry. "It feels good to have this win."

"We played extremely well tonight," said Wolter. "Our defense was great and we played hard, even when were up."

The Sunbirds are back in the pool at Sunnyside for a doubleheader tomorrow, with a rematch against Azusa Pacific at 10 am before taking on CSU Monterey Bay at 3 pm.