FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno Pacific opens another two-game week on Wednesday, as the Sunbirds face UC San Cruz on the road. The 'Birds then host Dominican for their conference home opener on Saturday. 

THE SCHEDULE
Match #11
at UC Santa Cruz (2-7)
Wednesday, Sept. 12 • 5 p.m.
Santa Cruz, Calif. • Kaiser Permanente Arena
Live Stats • Video
 
Match #12
vs. Dominican (3-5, 1-2 PacWest)
Saturday, Sept. 15 • 3 p.m.
Fresno, Calif. • Special Events Center 
Live Stats • Video
 
ABOUT THE SUNBIRDS
• FPU is looking to pick up its first win of the 2018 season on Wednesday. 
• The Sunbirds are coming off a three-set loss at Biola on Saturday. Caroline Bodziak led all players with 10 kills on .333 hitting and Greta Dobenecker totaled a double-double of 21 assists and 10 digs, but the Sunbirds couldn't contain the hot offense of Biola who hit .281 as a team.
• The 'Birds rank sixth in the PacWest in digs per set (15.53), but sit in eighth in kills per set (10.50).
 
FPU LEADERBOARD
• Kills per set: Carley Bock (2.68)
• Blocks per set: Mikayla Kennedy (0.66)
• Digs per set: Chantel Montayre (3.74)
• Assists per set: Greta Dobenecker (5.47)
• Aces: Christina Tran (8)

ABOUT THE BANANA SLUGS
• UC Santa Cruz currently sits at 2-7 overall on the season. The Banana Slugs most recently went 1-3 at the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational on Sept. 7-8. The win came against Willamette in straight sets in the second game of the tourney. 
• Claire Oakland leads the team with a 3.37 kills per set average, while Shania Andrews is adding 2.00 kills per set. The Banana Slugs are hitting .101 as a team on the year.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• The Sunbirds lead the all-time series 8-0. FPU won the last meeting in 2017 with a 3-0 sweep in Fresno.
 
ABOUT THE PENGUINS
• Dominican enters Saturday with a 3-5 overall mark and a 1-2 record in PacWest play. The Penguins won the last time on the court with a 3-1 win over Hawai'i Pacific. The Penguins have also picked up non-conference wins against Sonoma State (3-2) and Alaska (3-1) in 2018.
• The Penguins rank seventh in the league in hitting percentage (.148), while the defense is fourth in digs per set (15.84). Hana Wyles is the leader defensively, as the sophomore currently leads the PacWest in digs per set at 5.58. 
 
SERIES HISTORY
• FPU leads the all-time series 15-2. The Sunbirds have won the last three meetings, two coming on the road in San Rafael.

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