SAN FRANCISCO – The Fresno Pacific volleyball team opened the 2016 season with a 3-1 win over Concordia (Ore.) on Thursday at the Division II West Region Volleyball Showcase. Set scores from The Swamp on the campus of San Francisco State were 25-19, 19-25, 25-17 and 25-20.
 
The win marks head coach Tracy Ainger-Schulte's first career victory at FPU and also increases the Sunbirds' winning streak to 10 games, which dates back to last season. FPU moves to 1-0 on the season, while Concordia falls to 2-3 overall.
 
Karah Mitchell led FPU with 14 kills, while Carley Bock totaled 11 kills and Jasmine Phoolka also added 11 on .364 hitting. Montana Lowe put down seven kills, freshman Hailey Hilvers finished with five kills and Bissie DenHartog facilitated the offense with 45 assists.
 
"Our mental game was solid today," said Ainger-Schulte. "The girls stayed confident and aggressive throughout the match. We limited our errors, had a well-balanced attack and did a good job with our serve. It was a great way to start off the season."
 
The Sunbirds tallied 14 service aces, which marks a single game record in the Division II era (since 2012). Bock and Chelsea Speaks led the way with four aces apiece, while Mitchell, DenHartog and Phoolka each tallied two.
 
Speaks also headed the Sunbirds' defense with 26 digs. Hilvers made her presence known at the net with four blocks, while Phoolka added three. The Sunbirds totaled six blocks as a team.

After each team took a set, FPU used two dominant frames to earn the 3-1 win. The Sunbirds never trailed in set three, eventually leading 19-10 at one point, before Bock and Mitchell put down back-to-back kills to bring up set point. Bock then finished off the 25-17 win with an ace. In the final set, FPU led 16-15 before a 9-5 run decided the match.

Brenna Huwe led the Cavs with 12 kills, while teammate Brianna Hogan chipped in with 10.
 
FPU continues the D2 West Region Showcase tomorrow with two matches. The Sunbirds face Simon Fraser at 3 p.m. and SFSU at 8 p.m.