LAIE, Hawaii – Fresno Pacific opened its three-game Hawaii road trip on Wednesday, as the Sunbirds defeated BYU-Hawaii 3-1 behind a pair of double-double's from Karah Mitchell and Jasmine Phoolka. Set scores were 25-20, 25-22, 21-25 and 25-17 at the Cannon Activities Center.
 
FPU improves to 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the PacWest with the win, while BYUH falls to 4-13 overall and 2-6 in league action.
 
Mitchell led the charge offensively for the Sunbirds with 15 kills. The junior added a team-best 17 digs to pick up her seventh double-double of the season. Montana Lowe hit .524 en route to 12 kills and totaled a career-best nine blocks, Phoolka added 10 kills and 12 digs and Bissie DenHartog dished out 46 assists to go along with nine digs. Chelsea Speaks added 15 digs defensively.
 
"I thought Montana was outstanding tonight," said head coach Tracy Ainger-Schulte. "She really controlled the net with her blocking and was a difference maker for us. We were happy to get the win, but we know we are going to have to play a much cleaner match tomorrow."
 
The Sunbirds used a 9-4 run to close out the opening set and take a 1-0 lead in the match. A block from Lowe and DenHartog ignited the run before Carley Bock finished off the set with a kill. After falling behind early in the second frame, FPU used a 6-0 run in the middle the set to climb back and take a 16-13 lead. The Sunbirds then finished off the set on a 4-1 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match. After dropping the third set, FPU jumped out to a 7-3 lead in set four and cruised to the victory after hitting .417.
 
FPU held the Seasiders to .161 hitting as a team and countered at a clip of .238. The difference came at the net as the Sunbirds totaled 12 blocks.
 
Lacy Lange led BYUH with a game-high 16 kills, while Leilani Adolpho headed the defense with 16 digs.
 
The Sunbirds continue their road swing tomorrow at Hawaii Pacific at 10 p.m. PST.