Fullerton, Calif. - The women's volleyball team had the privilege of kickstarting the 2018-19 Golden Eagles season and they did it in style, by picking up two wins on the day. They started the day off with a 3-1 win over Warner Pacific, then followed it up with a straight-set win over Wayland Baptist. The Golden Eagles played two matches today and will play two matches tomorrow at the Summer Slam Tournament, hosted by Hope International University.
La Sierra def. Warner Pacific, 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-16)
It was an early wake-up call (literally speaking) for the Golden Eagles who opened the day with an 8am match. The early morning start didn't seem to bother the Golden Eagles who came out swinging, on their way to a .244 hitting percentage in the first set. Their offense struggled in the second set, allowing Warner Pacific to tie the match at 1-1. After a narrow victory in Set 3, the Golden Eagles finished things off with a dominating victory in Set 4.
Junior outside hitter, Michele Mendizabal led the team with 17 kills in the match. Shawnee Longmeyer added 14 kills, while Veronica Ramirez and Kiana Krumm each finished with 12 kills apiece.
Setter Angala Jensen directed the offense with a match-high 51 assists. Emily Morgan had a match-high 20 digs, with Krumm pitching in with 19 digs of her own. The team finished with a total of 16 block assists led by Ramirez's six and Jensen's five.
La Sierra def. Wayland Baptist, 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-17)
Despite a tightly contested second set, the Golden Eagles cruised to victory in their second match of the day. The Golden Eagles hit over .300 in both the first and third sets, to finish with a .280 hitting percentage for the match. Wayland Baptist struggled with their offense, committing 20 attack errors and hitting just .074, comparatively.
Mendizabal was the only La Sierra player to notch double-figures in total kills, with a match-high of 12. Jensen picked up 27 assists, while Morgan had 27 digs to lead all players.
The Golden Eagles will be back at it again tomorrow morning. La Sierra will play The Master's University, at 10am, for the first of two matches. They will end the day with an 8pm match-up against Aquinas College.
