Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

SAN DIEGO – Fresno Pacific concluded play at the Seaside Invitational Saturday with a pair of losses to Cal State Dominguez Hills and Metro State. In the morning game, FPU struggled offensively and fell to CSUDH 3-0 before concluding the weekend with a 3-1 defeat to MSU.

Scores from Golden Gymnasium in the opener were 25-22, 25-18 and 25-20 in favor of CSUDH.

"We couldn't do anything in the first game," said head coach Kelly Winter. "We had 21 errors, which was more than half of the points that we gave them. You aren't going to win a match with those numbers. We had too many moving parts and struggled throughout the match."

The Sunbirds were limited to .140 hitting in the match and committed 21 errors, while the Toros hit .235. FPU totaled 10 team blocks to CSUDH's 9.5.

FPU was led by eight kills and four blocks by Kathleen Anderson, while Rupia Inck amassed eight kills. Gabriela Macedo and Toni Murphy put down six kills apiece.

The Sunbirds mounted a comeback in the first set after trailing 20-15 to pull within one, a run that included two aces from Inck, but the Toros responded to close out the set and win 25-22. The second set witnessed eight ties and four lead changes before CSUDH took control with a 4-0 run to lead 19-13, and win the set 25-18. In the final game, the Sunbirds committed 11 errors and hit .026 to fall 25-20.

Bissie DenHartog dished out a team-high 18 assists and Chelsea Speaks totaled 14 assists, while Hannah Butler and Macedo recorded 10 digs apiece in the loss.

The Toros were led by 16 kills from Alijah Gunsaulus and 33 assists from Dana Brown.

In the finale of the Seaside Invitational, scores were 25-22, 20-25, 25-18 and 25-19 in favor of Metro State (4-0). Both teams are currently receiving votes in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll.

"We came out in the second game and really played well," said Winter. "We threw in a new lineup and I was really pleased with how that lineup produced. We went with a 5-1 with Sarah (McCann) at setter and she did a great job. Metro is a really good team, give them credit, but I was really pleased with the brand new system."

The Sunbirds (1-3) were led by Inck's double-double of 16 kills and 11 digs, while Anderson finished with 10 kills on .381 hitting. Macedo amassed eight kills in the loss.

In a competitive first set that saw eight ties and three lead changes, the Sunbirds hit .333. Trailing 22-19, the Sunbirds pulled within one following kills by Inck and Murphy before MSU closed out the win. FPU answered with a strong second set and held Metro State to .086 hitting to win 25-20. The Sunbirds closed the set on a 7-3 run, fueled by kills from Williams and Inck and strong defense at the net.

With the game tied 1-1, the Sunbirds were held to .091 and .147 hitting in the third and fourth sets, respectively, to fall and give Metro State the win 3-1.

Butler led the Sunbirds with 19 digs, while freshman Sarah McCann dished out 35 assists.

The Roadrunners were led by 16 kills from Kylie Haun and 50 assists from Brandi Torr.

"Now that we are hopefully back to full strength and have all the kinks worked out, we can continue to get better and develop more consistency with our play starting on Tuesday," said Winter.

FPU faces San Francisco State on Tuesday, Sept. 9 in its home opener. The game is slated to begin at 7 p.m. at the FPU Events Center.