Box Score Fresno Pacific def. Hawaii Pacific 3-1 (15-25, 25-14, 27-25, 25-22)Fresno Pacific used a well-balanced attack and a stifling defense to power past visiting Hawaii Pacific 3-1 on Friday night. The Sunbirds got back in the win column by defeating a talented Sharks team to improve to 8-6, 2-3 in PacWest play.
Rupia Inck had 16 kills and 10 digs,
Kathleen Anderson added 15 kills and
Hannah Butler turned in another fantastic defensive effort with 18 digs.
Sarah McCann dished out 22 assists and
Bissie DenHartog posted her second straight double-double with 21 assists and 12 digs.
Toni Murphy added 10 digs in the win. Anderson and
Rebecca Waller led the team with four blocks each.
The Sunbirds came out sluggish in the first set, hitting just .028 and falling behind early before dropping the set 25-15. After that however the team regrouped and dominated the second set before controlling sets three and four as well. Anderson ended a 27-25 third set win on a service ace, giving the team confidence in finishing after dropping two sets in extra points on Wednesday. The Sunbirds trailed 9-7 in the final set but went on a 15-6 run to pull away.
"The first set really just wasn't us," said head coach
Kelly Winter. "But the girls did a really nice job of snapping out of it and playing a lot harder and a lot tougher. Sometimes that's hard to do, when you don't start well you tend to stay in that funk, but I was really proud of how they responded. They stayed positive and just worked hard as a team to get back into it."
FPU is back in action tomorrow night, taking on Hawaii Hilo at 7 pm.
