PUC Pioneers Sink Keelhaulers

Getting a chance to show off a little firepower last Tuesday night, the Pacific Union College men's volleyball team up-ended UC Cal-Maritime's Keelhaulers in 55 minutes, 15-0, 15-7, 15-12.

The Pioneers showed both strength and control with a 7-0 lead in the first game, forcing the Keelhaulers to call a time-out. However, the Pioneers kept the pressure on and won the set as Cal-Maritime remained scoreless.

The Pioneers took an 11-4 lead in the second game and got fired up with freshman outside hitter Jonathan Paden's back-to-back kills. They took the set 15-7 with ease.

The Keelhaulers refused to give up in the third game. Their strategy was to get the ball over the net and make the Pioneers work for their points. This became a difficult task for the Pioneers as passing and hitting errors brought the Keelhaulers closer at 9-13. Cal-Maritime rallied to pull within one, 12-13.

But that was as close as they got. Sophomore middle hitter Steve Dulcich banged a kill and aced a serve to win the third game and the match 15-12.

The Pioneers were led by Dulcich with five kills and senior Brian Thio with three solo blocks. The Pioneers have a current record of 2-5, and will play their next game on April 1 as a rematch at Cal-Maritime.