SAN DIEGO  – Hawai'i Pacific University closed their four-game California road trip with a heartbreaking loss on Saturday, as Point Loma upended the Sharks 3-1 in PacWest Conference play at Golden Gym.
 
The Sharks (7-19, 5-13) fell to the Sea Lions (11-15, 8-10) 25-13, 20-25, 22-25, 22-25 in dropping their ninth straight.
 
HPU hit .254 for the match with 6.0 team blocks, while Point Loma hit .238 with 8.0 team blocks.
 
Freshman Cameryn Collie of El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge and sophomore Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico, led the Sharks as each tallied 12 kills with Escobar posting a double-double with 13 digs. Junior Kayla Demari of Dana Point, Calif./JSerra Catholic added 10 kills. Senior Lea Felton of Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis posted eight kills with a team high five blocks.
 
The Sea Lions were paced by Jaime Cymbaluk with 19 kills, Julia Malinas with 11 kills and four blocks, and Alyssa Rifilato with 10 kills. Madelynn Fox led the game with six blocks.
 
The Sharks dominated the opening set, jumping out to a 10-5 lead before going on a 9-1 run started with a Felton kill. The stretch included a 6-0 run that put the lead at 19-7. The teams traded points before HPU ended the set on a 3-0 run where Felton started the run with a kill and ended the set on a double-block with Escobar.
 
The second set started much like the first, with both teams posting 4-0 runs early. HPU built an 18-15 lead after an Escobar kill, but the Sea Lions answered with a 3-0 run to knot the set at 18. Another Escobar kill gave HPU a 19-18 advantage, then PLNU rallied with a 6-0 run to all but put it away. Cymbaluk finished the set with a kill to give the Sea Lions a 25-20 win.
 
The third set was controlled by the Sea Lions at the outset after a 4-0 run gave them an advantage. The Sharks trailed by five points twice in the set before coming back to pull within two at 23-21 on a 3-0 run. The teams swapped points to remain a two-point difference at 24-22 when a Julia Malinas kill gave PLNU the 25-22 win.
 
The final set was close but Point Loma never trailed. The Sea Lions used a 5-0 run after a 1-1 tie and HPU could not get over the hump, though they tried with a 5-0 run over their own to make it 20-19. Both teams scored to make it 21-20 after a setting error by Point Loma. The Sea Lions used a 3-0 run to get to 24-20 and held on after a pair of HPU points before Fox won the set and the match 25-22.
 
The Sharks return to the island for their final home match next Friday night when they host cross-town rival Chaminade in a PacWest Hawai'i Challenge match for Senior Night at St. Andrew's Priory at 7 p.m. They close the season next Saturday night at 7 p.m. in another challenge match at Hawai'i Hilo.