ANGWIN, Calif. - The women's volleyball team fell to Pacific Union tonight in a five-set thriller on the Pioneers senior night.
The Red Hawks looked to keep its playoff hopes alive as the Pioneers hoped to play spoilers for the Red Hawks.
Pacific Union took the early 1-0 lead with a first-set victory 25-21.
However, the Red Hawks responded in set two with a 25-17 win to even the score at one.
With the score tied at 14 a piece, the Red Hawks exploded to go on a 11-3 run to close out set two.
Kills by
Julia Zamfir and
Katie Graham started the Red Hawk rally with the help of self-inflicted wounds by the Pioneers.
Simpson carried the momentum into set three as they won convincingly, 25-15.
Tiana Nihipali had a big set three as she recorded six kills and one service ace.
The Pioneers responded by holding off Simpson's late comeback with a set four victory by the score of 25-22 to push the game to a fifth and final set.
With all on the line for Simpson, the Red Hawks drew first blood with a Zamfir kill. But the Pioneers grabbed an early 4-1 advantage.
The match would go down to the wire as the Red Hawks and Pioneers remained deadlocked at 12.
But a 3-1 Pioneer advantage proved fatal for Simpson's season as the Pioneers took the final set 15-13.
Tiara Manns and
Tiana Nihipali each recorded double-digit kills, 13 for Manns and 15 for Nihipali.
Kayla Somontan had quite the game as she recorded 38 assists to go along with seven digs and one ace.
Julia Zamfir had a solid game in the net as she recorded six kills and four solo blocks to go along with a hitting percentage of .455 for the game.
With the loss, the Red Hawks are eliminated from playoff contention with one game left.
Simpson will look to finish strong tomorrow against UC Merced on its senior night at 6 PM.
