Pioneers Take Third in Cal-PAC

The Pacific Union College men's volleyball team took third place at the California Pacific Conference (Cal-PAC) tournament last Thursday night, April 10. The Pioneers lost during the playoffs to the Bethany College Bruins in a short-lived match 13-15, 5-15, 13-15.

The Pioneers took the lead in the first game, forcing the Bruins to call a timeout at 6-9. Strong blocking by middle hitter Steve Dulcich and setter Dorian Silva secured the Pioneers' lead at 11-8. But the Bruins came back to tie the game at 13-13. The Pioneers rallied but could not regain control, and lost the set 13-15.

The second game was plagued with passing and blocking errors by the Pioneers, who made it easy for the Bruins to win, 15-5.

"We lost the intensity from our first game," said co-captain Scott Eastman. "Young teams tend to let errors slip into their thinking process instead of moving on, and we definitely showed that in our play."

The final game looked like a comeback for the Pioneers as they led 9-6. However, the Bruins pulled a repeat performance of game one and tied the set at 13-13. Bethany middle hitter Bill Richardson served two aces for an anticlimactic end of 15-13.

The Pioneers were led by senior Rob Wells and junior Scott Eastman with 12 kills each. Sophomore Steve Dulcich also added11 kills and had a team high of seven blocks. The loss brought the Pioneers' overall record to 4-9.