Women’s volleyball struggles continued as they were swept 3-0 against Fresno Pacific University on Friday and suffered their second three match losing streak of the season.

The Gators looked outmatched throughout majority of the game against the Sunbirds. They fell behind early in the first set and weren’t able to recover, losing 25-17.

Early in the second set, the Gators looked sharp and played with high intensity. They jumped out to 6-1 advantage but their lead slipped away rapidly. The Gators couldn’t stop the Sunbirds rally and eventually lost the set 25-17.

“We let a lot of balls drop that we could have gotten and we didn’t take advantage of the easy ball that we need to get,” outside hitter Willa Henderson said.

Henderson believed that their struggles in the first two sets were due to minor mistakes.

Head coach Matt Hoffman said the Gators didn’t seem focused and ready to play in the first two sets.

“When it rains it pours and that’s how the game felt like,” Hoffman said. “We let the game move faster than we were.”

The Gators didn’t let their disappointing first two sets get in their head and managed to show up strong for the third. It was a fierce and tight set as both teams went back and forth. The set consisted of many ties and lead changes, but the Sunbirds ultimately came out on top 27-25.  

Middle blocker, Lauren Williams, played a big role in the third set with two blocks and finished the game with six kills.

“I hope the fight that we had in the third set will translate into all of our games,” Williams said.

“This game felt like we weren’t there until the third set,” Hoffman said.” I’m proud of how the way we fought in the third set with our backs in the corner.”

With a record of 1-6, the Gators certainly have their backs against the wall. They will cap off the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase and look to improve their record at The Swamp Saturday against Concordia University.