ATHERTON, Calif. — After dropping the first set to the Oaks, Fresno Pacific volleyball battled back from a pair of late-set deficits to defeat Menlo 3-1 (24-26, 25-15, 25-20, 26-24).
"I really liked the way we responded tonight," stated Head Coach
Kelsee Montagna. "That first set was a battle and we fought our way back, had an opportunity to close it, and Menlo made the plays at the end to take it. But there was no panic from our group. We came right back out, reset, and took control of the second set. That response is what I was most proud of.
The Sunbirds fell just short in a back-and-forth opening set before taking control of the next two. Fresno Pacific trailed 22-18 in the first set but stormed back with six straight points, including two kills from
Rylee Pitney, an ace from
Makayla Smith, a Weiss-Pitney block and consecutive kills from
Madelyn Feramisco to take a 24-22 lead. Menlo answered with four straight points, however, to steal the set 26-24.
The 'Birds responded strongly, cruising through the second set 25-15 before holding off the Oaks 25-20 in the third to take a 2-1 match lead.
"Menlo continued to challenge us, especially late in the fourth, and being down 23-21 forced us to find another gear. We stayed aggressive, trusted each other, and found a way to finish.
The fourth set brought another late test. After Menlo took an early 6-4 lead, Fresno Pacific answered by winning seven of the next eight points, with
Itzel Aguayo, Pitney,
Morgan Castaneda and Feramisco contributing kills across the board. Menlo battled back to regain the lead and eventually moved ahead 23-21.
With the set hanging in the balance, Feramisco sparked the decisive finish with a resounding kill. A Menlo attack error followed, and Castaneda delivered a kill off a set from
Mikayla Weiss to put the Sunbirds in front. Another Menlo attack error closed out the 26-24 comeback and secured the 3-1 victory.
Montagna mentioned, "I also loved how balanced we were offensively tonight. Mik did a great job distributing the ball and we had multiple attackers producing, which makes us really difficult to defend when we're in rhythm. It wasn't our cleanest match, but sometimes you need matches like this. We were tested, we stayed composed, and we found a way to win."
Fresno Pacific remains undefeated! The No. 4 Sunbirds are 15-0 overall and 5-0 in CCAA play.
NEXT UP: The Blue and Orange are back at home Friday, October 9! The match against Cal State East Bay starts at 7pm in the Special Events Center.
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