FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific volleyball team saw its three-game winning streak snapped on Halloween night on Monday, as the Sunbirds were swept by visiting Dixie State at the Special Events Center. Set scores were 25-18, 25-22 and 25-23.
 
FPU moves to 8-10 overall and 6-8 in the PacWest with the setback, while DSU improves to 15-8 overall and 11-4 in league action.
 
"Dixie State is a very good defensive team, and they showed that tonight," said head coach Tracy Ainger-Schulte. "We battled and played hard, but we didn't have the extra push we needed to swing the match in our favor."
 
The Sunbirds were held to .147 hitting as a team on the night, while Dixie State countered at a clip of .248. The Trailblazers out-blocked the Sunbirds 9-5.
 
Jasmine Phoolka led FPU with 11 kills, while Karah Mitchell added 10 to go along with 13 digs. Carley Bock added eight kills, Montana Lowe totaled seven and Bissie DenHartog dished out 36 assists offensively. Chelsea Speaks recorded a team-high 14 digs and Gabriela Macedo amassed 12 scoops to lead the defense, while Hailey Hilvers had five blocks at the net.
 
FPU struggled out of the gate and was held to .089 hitting in the opening set. After each team exchanged points in the second frame, the Trailblzers closed the set on a 5-2 run to jump ahead in the match 2-0. DSU carried the momentum into the final set and hit a match-high .306 to earn the sweep.
 
Delayne Daniel led the Trailblazers with 17 kills, while Kailey Frei dished out 35 assists. Sidney Brandon recorded a game-high 17 digs.
 
The Sunbirds will hit the road to face Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.