Pecora, Swingle dominate as Women's Volleyball beats Holy Names, Mills

The Dominican Women's Volleyball team took sole possesion of second place in the Cal Pac Conference standings this past weekend, with impressive wins against Holy Names University and Mills College. On Friday, the team played perhaps its biggest match of the season before a huge crowd at the Conlan Center, winning three games to two in a thriller. They'd follow that up on Saturday night again at Conlan, defeating Mills in three games.

Junior Outside Hitter Gabby Pecora was dominant with 22 kills against Holy Names and 34 kills overall. She also had 28 digs, two blocks and two service aces. Sophomore Setter Brooke Swingle won Conference Player of the Week honors with her effort, averaging 10 assists per game to go along with four blocks and 21 digs. Senior Right-side Hitter Amanda Wagner and Freshman Outside Hitter Cayla Morphew each had 19 kills for the week. Freshman Libero Mercedes Smith led the team with 36 digs.

The team's record now stands at 6-7 with a 6-1 record in conference play. They'll hit the road next weekend as they play a critical match at Menlo College on Friday night. 

Photo : Gabby Pecora blasts the ball past Mills

Folan, Bratsberg route Bethany, Women's Soccer still undefeated in Conference   

The Lady Penguins of Dominican Women's Soccer won easily this past Wednesday at home, hosting Bethany University.

Sophomore Bridget Folan and Freshman Julianne Bratsberg each had three goals and Folan would add two assists as Dominican won, 6-2. Freshman Katie Brown had two assists. Dominican had an impressive twenty shots on goal, and had held the Lady Bruins to a single score until a goal by Bethany with 17 seconds left in the game. 

The team remained undefeated against the Cal Pac on Saturday evening at Menlo College, finishing with a 0-0 tie in a match that was called at the end of regulation due to insufficient lighting. Sophomore Goalkeeper Alicia Paulsen had two saves to preserve the Penguins' record. Dominican had an impressive 11-3 advantage in corner kicks against the Lady Oaks.  

The team's record now stands at 7-2-2 with a 4-0-1 record in Cal Pac conference play, making them the last undefeated team in-conference. Dominican is challenging to crack the National Top 25 rankings, and may very well accomplish that as they play at Holy Names University this Saturday in a 3:00 p.m. match. They defeated the Lady Hawks earlier this season at home in a 4-1 victory.    

Photo : Bridget Folan

Balanced Scoring leads Men's Soccer over Bethany, ties with Menlo  

The Penguins of Men's Soccer continued their rebound this past week with a 4-0 win hosting Bethany University followed by a 1-1 tie at Menlo College this past Saturday.  

Four Penguins scored against the Bruins of Bethany, including Sophomore Ryan Vella, Sophomore Alec Ziegler, Freshman phenom Pedro Guevera and Sophomore Tim Pinella. A dominating defense held Bethany to a single shot on goal.

The defense was nearly as impressive on Saturday at Menlo, holding the Oaks to five shots on goal. Sophomore Matt Peinado scored a goal in the first half off a Shane Huiberts assist. Sophomore Goalkeeper Alex Bolt had four saves. But a Menlo goal with five minutes left tied it up and two overtime periods couldn't decide a winner.   

The team's record now stands at 4-3-3 with a 4-1-1 record against Cal Pac opponents. They head to Holy Names University this Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. game.    

Photo : Senior Team Co-Captain Anthony Urroz  

This Week's Schedule
(Bold lettering indicates home competitions)

Day	Date	Team	Opponent	Time
Friday	October 17	Women's Volleyball	at Menlo College	7:00 p.m.
Saturday	October 18	Men's Soccer	at Holy Names University	1:00 p.m.
Saturday	October 18	Women's Soccer	at Holy Names University	3:00 p.m.
Saturday	October 18	Women's Volleyball	at Bethany University	7:00 p.m.

Photos courtesy of Shaina Talbot
Graphics courtesy of Brandon Davis
Content by Michael Rupp
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