WELCOME BACK, NATASHA

Tuesday, October 3

Riverside

7 p.m.

California Baptist University

Westmont College (Calif.)

10/3/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- Opportunity knocked, and for the second time in as many matches, Natasha Evylnn answered.

The senior middle blocker looks to have found her rhythm after missing the 2005 season due to an injury. Evylnn ended with a season-high 13 digs to go along with 11 kills and a block as the No. 3-ranked and 2-time defending NAIA champion Lancers swept Westmont by scores of 30-18, 30-28, 30-22.

The win was the fourth in a row for California Baptist, which improves to 18-2, including an 8-1 mark in GSAC play. Meanwhile, the Warriors fall to 5-8, 3-6, with the loss.

"I was really impressed with Natasha tonight, that's 2 strong showings in a row for her," said California Baptist head coach Ryan McGuyre. "She was impressive both on defense and on offense tonight. She hit for a great percentage (.304) and kept the energy going on the court all night long."

Verania Willis ended the night with a match-high 12 kills while Shi Fe notched 10.

The Lancers started out game one in style, as Caitlin Parker served a trio of aces to build up a 10-3 California Baptist lead. Fei ripped 5 first-game kills, while Willis crashed 4 of her own as the Lancers hit .379 (16-5-29) to take the opening set, 30-18.

"We had a great serving night all around tonight," said McGuyre. "Caitlin set the tone for us early on, and the rest of the team followed suit."

It looked like the same-old, same-old as the Lancers opened up an early 5-2 lead on an ace by Angela Willis, but the Warriors fought back with a 7-3 run featuring 6 unforced California Baptist errors to take a 12-8 lead.

However, Verania Willis stuffed a Kelsey Voetmann attack, however, to start the Lancers on the comeback trail, but Westmont continued to hold the California Baptist attack at bay, building up a 19-12 lead that was again helped along by a number of Lancer hitting errors.

The team trailed by 8, at 21-13, but Verania Willis rocketed a kill to initiate an 11-1 run that gave the Lancers a 24-22 advantage. Westmont tied the game at 24 apiece, but a kill by Evylnn untied the score, sending California Baptist on its way to a 30-28 win.

Willis ripped 6 kills in the finale, as the Lancers built up an impressive 22-7 lead to put the Warriors in their deepest hole of the night. Westmont responded with a 9-1 rally that made the score 23-16, but California Baptist held on to take the third set by a score of 30-22, surviving a last-ditch, 5-2, run by the Warriors.