SONOMA, Calif.-While the rest of NCAA Division II opened their season a week ago, the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds made their season debut Friday, dropping a pair of four-set matches to Sonoma State and Cal State East Bay on SSU's campus.

First year head coach Mike MacNeill had just a few weeks to acclimate his team to his philosophies and the Sunbirds came out aggressive from the start. FPU quickly acclimated as they took the opening set in both matches before close sets (the 2^nd set against SSU and the 3^rd set against CSUEB) went against them.

Still, FPU showed plenty of promise in the early stages of MacNeill's tenure beginning with a Sonoma State team that has found early season success.

The Sunbirds benefitted from some early errors by the Wolves, but Makena Ogas and Kaiessa Sounart each delivered kills as FPU jumped out to a 6-1 lead, leading to a SSU timeout.

Sonoma State responded after the timeout scoring five of the next seven points.
FPU built their lead from there, leading by as much as six at 18-12. Sonoma State drew within three before Ogas registered a pair of kills to extend the lead to 20-15.

The Sunbirds closed out the first set, holding Sonoma State to just a .053 attack percentage, in route to taking the opening set 25-19.

"We game planned well for the Sonoma hitters, and our blockers executed really well," Fresno Pacific head coach Mike MacNeill said of the gameplan. "Sonoma showed why they are having some early success this year, with their adjustments."

FPU and SSU evenly split the first ten points of set two. The Sunbirds fell behind by two points and jockeyed with the Wolves until they eventually tied the set at 15-15. The Sunbirds again fell behind by two before the block of Sounart and Girnius tied the set at 18.

Fresno Pacific built a 22-20 lead before Sonoma State rallied off three consecutive points, putting FPU in a 23-22 deficit and forcing a timeout.
Sonoma State wrapped up the second set 25-23 to tie the match at one set a piece. The Wolves cut their errors in half in the second set and hit .235 to steal the set by the narrowest of margins.

FPU fell behind to start the third set with Mike MacNeill being forced to use a timeout while facing a 7-3 deficit. That difference would double as Sonoma State extended their lead to 16-8.

Once FPU earned the side out, Corrine Acosta's service run-which included an ace- pulled FPU within one at 16-15.

The teams traded service errors before the Wolves scored the next five points to take a 22-16 lead, forcing FPU's final timeout of the set. Sonoma State wrapped up the second set 25-18, using four kills to seize their final four points of the set.

"This was a fun, competitive match," MacNeill added about the first match of the year. "We saw many great things across the board. The fight we had during each play was awesome to see and will continue to carry over into the rest of this weekend."

Fresno Pacific had just two hours to regroup before matching up with another CCAA opponent in Cal State East Bay.
 
The Pioneers took the early lead, but FPU displayed their resilience again, this time showcasing their best offensive set of the young season.

Makena Ogas led a balanced offense with 7 kills as FPU hit .390 for the set and stormed past the Pioneers in the middle portion of the match.

FPU was down 14-11 but scored 15 of the final 19 points as Ogas delivered five of her kills in that stretch. Chloe Melis added a pair during the run.

Both defenses made adjustments in the second set, but it was Cal State East Bay that gave away fewer points, committing just one error. The Pioneers were also
excellent at the service line, duplicating their 1^st set total of 4 aces while tying up the match at one set each as FPU fell 25-15.

The third set was even for the first 14 points with both offenses hitting well over .500 at the beginning of the set. CSUEB tightened up defensively over the next four points, taking an 11-7 lead and forcing FPU into a timeout.

East Bay extended their lead to as much as six at 19-13, but a pair of blocks by Melis and a kill by Ogas forced the Pioneers to take a timeout at 19-16.

Anastasia Barakhoyeva delivered a key service run for the Sunbirds that gave FPU a 20-19 lead before CSUEB earned side out.

But CSUEB scored the next four points as well, earning set point.

Aydalis Felix's serve helped prolong the match before CSUEB snagged set three 25-23. The Pioneers delivered their best offensive performance of the match with 17 kills in the set, taking a two-sets to one lead on FPU.

FPU some of its rhythm at the start of the fourth set as CSUEB jumped out to a four-point lead. CSUEB extended it from the service line, racking up six aces from the service line.

That was enough to undo the hot start for FPU, as CSUEB wrapped up the match with a 25-16 victory in set 4.
FPU dipped offensively in the fourth set, managing just 6 kills in the frame.

Ogas led FPU with 28 kills over the two matches, finishing the 2^nd match with 19. Catie Speas dished out 61 assists over the opening day as well.

"We showed what we are capable of," MacNeill finished. "And what we will continue to work towards. There is a lot to like about this team and we are excited about what the future holds."

The Sunbirds will bounce right back on Saturday, heading to San Rafael for two more matches as they will play Northwest Nazarene at 10:30 am before wrapping up the road trip against Chico State at 6:00 pm.

Both matches can be viewed via Dominican University's livestream for $10 a broadcast. Live stats are available for free.