SIOUX CITY, IOWA -- Fresno Pacific reached the semifinals of the NAIA National Championship tournament on Friday, taking down University of Texas-Brownsville in the quarterfinals, 25-17, 25-23, 25-18.
"We are playing at a very high level, some of the best volleyball we've played all year. This is a great time to do it. Everybody played well today, no one really struggled," coach Dennis Janzen said. "The difference was defensively, we had 12 blocks to their 1. And we outdug them by a bit. It was a team effort."
Lauren Albertson and
Michelle Johnson came up with five blocks apiece, including Albertson's three solo blocks.
"I thought Mariah [Mandelbaum] and Tiffany [Marinos] did a great job in the back row, 15 and 13 digs [respectively], they were all over the place," continued coach Janzen.
Martina Gregusova and
Ke Ke Wang led the Sunbirds in scoring with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Fresno Pacific held Brownsville to a .139 hitting percentage while the Sunbirds kept up their strong attack with a .286.
The Sunbirds have swept every opponent in the tournament so far, and will take on Golden State Athletic Conference rival Concordia in the semifinals Saturday. Last year the Sunbirds defeated the Eagles in five sets in the national championship match, and swept them in both their meetings this season.
That match will begin at 8 a.m. Pacific time, followed by the other semifinal between Lee (Tenn.) and Georgetown (Ky.). Georgetown upset No. 2-seeded California Baptist.
The national championship match will begin at 6 p.m. Pacific time Saturday.