SANTA ANA - It took a 10-3 rally in the fifth set, but the Dons won their second straight match with a 3-2 win over Division III Caltech. The final scores were 25-11, 25-23, 23-25, 18-25 and 15-13.

The Dons (2-6) jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set on the strength of three Netina Moemoe service aces before building their lead to 10-5. SAC continued to control the set as they went on to win 25-11.

After the Dons grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the second set, Caltech (0-6) went on a 10-2 run to take a 10-5 lead. The Beavers continued to lead by as many as five points but the Dons started to slowly chip away at the lead.

After falling behind 22-17, the Dons scored three-straight points to cut Caltech's lead to 22-20. The Beavers scored the next point to take a 23-20 lead but the Dons rallied with five-straight points to take the set 25-23.

Holding the commanding 2-0 lead in the match, the Dons needed just one more set to claim their second victory of the season. But the third game proved to be the most even as the team's traded one-point leads and ties up to a 14-14 tie.

Caltech claimed the first two-point lead of the set at 16-14 but the Dons were able to come back and reclaim the lead at 17-16. It wasn't until the set was tied at 18-18 when Caltech finally took control of the set.

The Beavers used a 5-0 run to take a 23-18 lead but the Dons would prove to have one more rally left in them. Trailing 24-19, the Dons scored four-straight to cut Caltech's lead to 24-23 but the Beavers got the final point to win 25-23 and extend the match.

The fourth game belonged to Caltech early as the Beavers scored the set's first seven points before the Dons rallied to tie the game 8-8. The Dons would eventually overtake the lead at 15-14 but the Beavers used a 4-0 run to take control of the set at 18-15 before forcing a fifth set with the 25-18 win.

Caltech seemed destined to complete the come-from-behind win as they established a 10-5 lead in the deciding set. But the Dons refused to be denied of their second win and, on the strength of two Christine Chavez kills and two Michelle Nguyen service aces, made the improbable comeback to claim the match with a final set score of 15-13.

The victory was fueled by 10 kills from Chavez and Marissa Kohler followed by nine kills from Tori Sparks. Netina Moemoe added 27 digs while Violet Falealili had 33 assists. Another key factor for the Dons were service aces with Nguyen and Moemoe having five apiece.

The Dons return to action next Friday when they travel to Riverside City College for the Orange Empire Conference opener. Game time is 6:00 p.m.