FRESNO, Calif. — Hawai'i Pacific University battled for five sets, but dropped its second straight road game on Monday night as Fresno Pacific grabbed a 3-2 win over the Sharks in PacWest Conference play at the FPU Events Center.
 
The Sharks (6-10, 4-4) fell to the Sunbirds (7-10, 5-3) 17-25, 25-15, 23-25, 26-24, 9-15.
 
"We gave it a run tonight," said head coach Jenic Tumaneng. "We were right there in every set and just didn't get the point we needed."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
 
The Sharks hit .213 for the match and posted 5.0 team blocks, while FPU .279 with 6.0 team blocks.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico collected her eighth double-digit kill match of the season posting 18 to lead the Sharks, while junior right side hitter Kayla Demari of Dana Point, Calif./JSerra Catholic added 13 kills and a .286 hitting percentage.  Junior middle blocker Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial led the Sharks with four total blocks.
 
Caroline Bocziak paced the Sunbirds with 16 kills with four blocks. Gabriela Maced chalked up 12 kills and Malerie Crenshaw added 10 kills.
 
The teams split the first sets with FPU with Fresno taking 25-17 and the Sharks commanding set two 25-15.
 
The HPU and FPU battled through six ties and nine lead changes in the set when the Sharks got a kill from Escobar keyed a 3-0 run. HPU was up 21-19 when the Sunbirds made their reply. FPU went on a 4-0 run to overtake HPU 23-21. The Sharks rallied to hold the service down 24-23, but a blocking error on an attack by the Sunbirds gave Fresno Pacific a 25-23 win.
 
The Sharks forced the fifth and deciding set with their play in the fourth set. The match swung on 12 ties and five lead changes. HPU came back from an 18-15 deficit, while the Sunbirds fought off a 24-21 HPU advantage to tie the set at 24-all. The Sharks got the 25th point on a Sunbird attack error and followed with a Demari ace to win the set 26-24.
 
The teams exchanged points to a 5-all tie when FPU saw an opening. A kill from Karah Mitchell started a 4-0 run for Fresno Pacific and the Sharks never recovered. The Sunbirds went on another 3-0 and finished off the match on Christina Tran's service ace.
 
HPU travels north to San Francisco for the Sharks next match on Wednesday, when they take on Academy of Art in PacWest play at Kezar Pavilion. First serve is set for 4:30 p.m. HST (7:30 p.m. PDT).