Doubleheader Split
The Providence Christian women's volleyball team traveled east to San Dimas to play a double header versus Life Pacific University and West Coast Baptist. The three teams played a round robin style tri-match which afforded each school significant court time in a great, competitive environment.
The Lady Sea Beggars opened the day playing Life Pacific. The Warriors came out with a strong early start and forcing the Lady Sea Beggars to play from behind. Life's strong offensive performance allowed them to score points and put pressure on the Providence defense. The Lady Sea Beggars settled in and consistently improved throughout the three-game set, eventually falling 25-12, 25-16, and 25-20. The Beggars were led by Valeria Garcia, who had four kills and Josephine Fuamatu whose impact was palpable, finishing with seven digs and two service aces. Sisters Jacey and Jenelle Loewen each had one block and one block assist to help the Lady Sea Beggar's defensive efforts.
Sophomore Jacey Loewen talked about the opening match saying, "Today Life Pacific stayed consistent in every aspect, and I think it would have been a closer game if we were more efficient with the balls that were given to us. You can see the effort on the court with almost every ball. I think there are some connections and matchups we can work on, but this is one of the most humble and selfless teams that can make that happen."
Game two of the day was against West Coast Baptist. The Lady Sea Beggars started strong in the first set, scoring 25 points while holding West Coast Baptist to just five. The second and third sets saw a similar outcome, with Providence allowing West Coast Baptist 15 and eight points respectively to finish the three-game sweep.
Senior captain Jordyn Moser reflected on the second match saying, "I thought we were really locked in for the second time around playing West Coast Baptist and it all started with our serving. We had a lot of fun getting to run certain plays and I'm excited for what's next." Freshman Josephine Fuamatu added, "We have a ton to work on to build the team chemistry, but overall, we played much better than our first match with West Coast Baptist. Today we played how we were supposed to, and we applied everything we learned in practice to the court today. We achieved in our serving game and ran our routes and that's what helped us to defeat WCB. Coach Lauryn and Athena expect greatness from us and we're all capable of giving that. This group of women have all the drive and energy, and I'm very excited to see what we have in hand during the rest of our season!"
The Lady Sea Beggar players showcased their skills throughout the game. Tiari Ho'okano had an impressive performance, scoring 12 kills with a hitting percentage of .750. Josephine Fuamatu contributed significantly with 10 assists and 12 points and Jacey Loewen played a crucial role on both offense and defense, tallying five kills and three blocks.
Overall, the two-match series proved to be a great opportunity for the Lady Sea Beggars to play good volleyball against solid competition, while exposing a few areas they can improve on. Providence Christian improved their overall record to 2-1 on the season and now prepare to play at Cal Tech on Friday evening at 6pm followed by at the University of Redlands on Saturday at 2pm.