RIVERSIDE, Calif.  – Hawai'i Pacific University fought hard in the second set, but could not overcome No. 2 California Baptist on Wednesday night, as the PacWest Conference Champions took a 3-0 win over the Sharks in CBU's home regular season finale at Van Dyne Gym.
 
The Sharks (7-18, 5-11) fell for the seventh straight time as the second ranked Lancers (25-0, 17-0) remained unbeaten with the 25-10, 25-23, 25-14 victory.
 
HPU hit .143 for the match with 5.0 team blocks, while the Lancers hit .342 with 6.0 team blocks and seven service aces.
 
The Sharks were led by junior Kayla Demari of Dana Point, Calif./JSerra Catholic, who recorded eight kills and hit .400. Junior Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial, followed with seven kills and led the team with four blocks. Sophomore Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico, added six kills.
 
The second ranked Lancers were paced by Lauren Hackett with 16 kills and two blocks, while McKenna Witt added 10 kills. Madison Witt had nine kills, as Sydney Marks posted nine kills with a .600 hitting percentage and three blocks.
 
In playing their final match at home before the postseason, Cal Baptist and HPU were locked up early until the Lancers reeled off a 7-0 run to take a commanding 13-4 lead and never let up as they cruised to a 25-10 win.
 
But the Sharks made the second set interesting, using a 4-0 run to take an early 7-5 lead started on a Pyle kill. The teams battled through nine ties and six lead changes during the set, as HPU overcame a 19-16 deficit with a 5-1 run to grab a 21-20 lead on back-to-back kills from Demari. CBU followed with a 3-0 run, only to see HPU answer with a kill from Demari and a double block from Chandler Lippincott and Sierra Piester to knot the set at 23-all. The No. 2 Lancers came back with back-to-back kills from Madison Witt to claim the set 25-23.
 
The third set found HPU holding pace early leading through 4-3 when the Lancers made their move to clinch the outright PacWest title with a 6-0 run. The Sharks never recovered as CBU added two more 4-0 runs and held on for a 25-14 win for the match.
 
The Sharks are back in action for the second game of this southern California trip as they face undefeated PacWest Conference champion California Baptist on Wednesday night. First serve is set for 5 p.m. HST (7 p.m. PST).
 
HPU has a quick turnaround for the third of four matches on the California road trip. The Sharks take on Biola, who they beat in five sets on Sept. 30, on Thursday evening in La Mirada. First serve is set for 5 p.m. HST (7 p.m. PST) at Chase Gymnasium.