Fresno Pacific received 31 digs from Hannah Butler, 14 kills from Rupia Inck and a .727 attack percentage on eight kills from Kathleen Anderson to play near flawless volleyball in a straight set victory (25-18, 25-19, 25-14) against Point Loma (9-15, 5-9 PacWest) on Saturday.

The win for FPU (21-2, 13-1 PacWest) solidifies control of the NCCAA west region after defeating two of the west region schools in PLNU and California Baptist on consecutive days on the road. 

“The girls were excited that last night's win clinched second in the PacWest and that we'll likely be hosting a playoff match,” said Winter. “They were fired up and played with a lot of confidence today.”

Fresno Pacific came out in set one dominating at the nets, totaling five blocks as a team holding the Sea Lions to negative .089 hitting in the 25-18 set win. Anderson led the Sunbirds attack on offense with four kills on five attempts.

With the score 13-10 early, Fresno Pacific was fueled by kills from Inck and Jessie Alcorn and blocks from Erica Adachi, Morghan Williams and Karah Mitchell to stretch the lead to 19-12. The Sunbirds finished off the set one victory on a 5-2 run, sparked by two Anderson kills before Adachi recorded the set clinching kill.

“We hit very efficiently all day and blocked really well in the first set,” said Winter. “The girls came out ready to play.”

Set two action was tight early with FPU (.474 hitting) and PLNU (.297) exchanging kills in an offensive show. With the score knotted at 13 apiece, the Sunbirds received a service error by the Sea Lions, a kill from Anderson and two kills from Mitchell to gain a lead 17-14.

The Sunbirds used the momentum in their favor to close out the set on a 8-5 run, led by three Inck kills down the stretch to seal the 25-18 win.

FPU came out in set three determined to finish off the straight set victory, jumping out to a 17-8 lead behind an offensive show from Anderson, Inck and Mitchell. Adachi and Williams also got in the action at the net, providing a force against the PLNU attackers. 

The set would be finished off by two Butler service aces and a Mitchell kill to win 25-14, earning the sweep of the Sea Lions.

“Hannah played really well,” Winter said. “It's quite a feat to have 31 digs in a three-set match. She's gotten better and better all season and has been a huge component to our success.”

As a team Fresno Pacific hit .339 and totaled 70 digs in the win. Behind Inck and Anderson on offense, Mitchell hammered 10 kills on .364 hitting, Adachi put down 6 on .545 hitting and Alcorn and Williams totaled five apiece. Emily Carroll facilitated the offense with 21 assists and seven digs, while Adachi dished out 17 assists and recorded 13 digs as well. 

“Rupia and Kathleen hit really well for us as they have all season,” said Winter. “Jessie also did a lot of things really well for us today. Karah struggled at the beginning but really settled in and had a great match.”

At the net the Sunbirds recorded 8.5 total team blocks, frustrating the Sea Lion attackers all afternoon. Adachi led FPU with 5 blocks while Anderson recorded four in the middle.

“We wanted to make sure we took care of business today,” Winter said. “We look to finish the regular season strong on the road next weekend.”

Fresno Pacific travels to Belmont next Friday to take on Notre Dame de Namur at 7 pm before taking on Academy of Art in San Francisco at 3 pm the following day, wrapping up Pacific West conference play.