SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Adeline Galvanoni fired off a match-high tying 16 kills, but it was not enough as undefeated Point Loma hit .383 overall in a 25-14, 25-21, 25-20 PacWest women's volleyball victory on Thursday at Golden Gymnasium.
It was the sixth time this season that Galvanoni had totaled 16 or more kills in a match. She displayed incredible efficiency in hitting that mark against the Sea Lions, swinging at a .536 (16-1-28) clip with just one attack error.
Galvanoni is hitting .320 on the season, sixth-best in the PacWest.
Morgan Cole added six kills to go along with a team-high tying 12 digs, while Delaney Hill chipped in five kills.
Setter Madeline DeLucia posted a double-double with 17 assists and 12 digs.
The Lions hit .175 for the match, while the Sea Lions countered with just eight attack errors en route to their .383 hitting performance.
Abigail Nua led PLNU with 16 kills on .333 efficiency. Saren Rogers hit .588 with 11 kills.
Point Loma remained unbeaten at 18-0 and 12-0 in the PacWest. The Lions dropped to 8-9 overall and 5-8 in conference play.
What Happened?
Set 1 - The Lions led early at 5-4, but PLNU scored 11 of the next 12 points. Two straight kills from Sophia Baugh gave the Sea Lions the lead for good. PLNU then benefited from two Lion attack errors and a service ace to complete a 5-0 run.
Nua committed an attack error to bring the Lions within 9-6, but Point Loma pieced together a 6-0 run which included two more aces.
The Lions managed to score back-to-back points just one more time the remainder of the set as PLNU earned a comfortable 25-14 victory.
PLNU hit .467 (15-1-30) in the set, while VU checked in at .194 (12-6-31).
Set 2 – VU was positioned to take the set, but a late run by PLNU propelled the home team to a 25-21 triumph.
There were 13 ties and seven lead changes in the frame.
Similar to the first set, VU maintained a 5-4 lead, but this time did not allow PLNU to break away. The home side put together a mini 3-0 run to take a slight 10-7 lead, but the Lions roared back with four straight points to go up by one. Kate Phillips came off the bench to start the rally with a kill, followed by three straight PLNU attack errors.
The final two points in the run involved assisted blocks from Bailey Olbur, Galvanoni and Phillips.
The Lions fell behind 16-14, but answered with three straight points to retake a 17-16 lead. Galvanoni had a kill, then Kayla Robinson and Hill teamed up to stuff Nua as the Lions hung tough.
PLNU battled back – and Nua bookended a 4-0 run with a pair of kills as the Sea Lions went up 20-17.
But the Lions tied the score at 20-20 after scoring the next points.
In a game of runs, PLNU had the final one as Saren Rogers tallied a pair of kills among a 4-0 run. Makenna Joyce had one of three Sea Lion aces in the set as the home team went up 24-20. VU staved off one set point, but Anna Massari ended matters with a kill.
PLNU hit .300 (18-6-40) for the set.
Set 3 – The Lions fell prey to another early PLNU run but stayed afloat with a late comeback of their own.
Leading 5-3, the Blue and Gold succumbed to a 6-0 PLNU surge, aided by three VU attack errors.
PLNU's lead hovered between three and five points until midway through the set. The Sea Lions then went on a 4-1 run to take a commanding 17-10 lead.
PLNU's advantage reached eight points at 22-14 when the Lions crawled back into the match with a 5-0 run. Galvanoni slammed three kills to key the comeback as VU trailed just 22-19.
However, PLNU got back-to-back kills from Charleston Tidwell to reach match point. Galvanoni slammed her ninth kill of the stanza to pull VU within 24-20, but a Lion error ended the match on the next play.
The Sea Lions hit .405 (16-1-37) in the third set, compared to .178 (15-7-45) efficiency for VU.
What's Next?: After a stretch of playing seven of its last eight contests on the road, VU finally returns home on Saturday, November 2 to host Dominican at 2:00 p.m.
