California Baptist University
Concordia University (Calif.)
GOWEN, LANCERS STUFF CONCORDIA
9/26/2006 7:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE
The Lancers built up a 20-12 lead in the closing set before closing out the game and the match by scores of 30-26, 30-27, 25-30, 30-21 to improve to 15-2, including a 6-1 mark in GSAC play. Meanwhile, the Eagles drop to 13-2, 5-2 with the loss.
Verania Willis led the team with 21 kills while Rachel Gowen posted 10 blocks, ranking her second on the school single-match record books.
“Rachel was definitely the player of the match for us,” said California Baptist head coach Ryan McGuyre. "I always tell the girls that you never know when it's your time to shine, but with Rachel, it's no suprise. Ever since she's arrived here, she's proved herself as the best blocker in the gym. She was definately the difference-maker for us tonight."
In a convincing game 4 win, Willis notched 8 kills, as Shi Fei chipped in with 5 of her 17 kills for the Lancers, who hit a match-high .310 (18-5-42) in the closing set.
The Eagles were not to be deterred in the third set, building up a comfortable, 19-15, lead before Yudelka Bonilla notched a kill to put the Lancers on a 5-1 game-tying run. Concordia again rallied after California Baptist took a, 23-22, lead, finishing on an 8-2 run that featured a 5-serve, 2-ace barrage from Lindsey Campbell.
Although 6 kills from Ashley Robbins caused game 2 to see-saw, the Lancers took the lead for good at 22-21 and never looked back, stretching the lead to 27-22 before the Eagles mounted a comeback effort to bring the score to 28-27. However, Shi Fei ripped her third kill of the set and put game 2 on ice with a game-closing ace.
Four early scores from Verania Willis bumped the Lancers out to a, 20-15, lead in the opening set, but a 7-2 Concordia run knotted up the game at 24-24. Just as quickly as the score was tied, however, Shi Fei untied it with one of her 4 first-game kills as the Lancers rallied for a, 30-26, game-one win.
Lauren Briley notched a team-leading 48 assists in just her third match back from an early season injury.
"Lauren did a great job running the show for us tonight," said McGuyre. "It was a good collective team effort from top to bottom. A lot of our role players stepped up tonight and made some momentum-changing plays. Natasha [Evylnn] had some key blocks and Mical Bell came up with a pair of key aces in game one.
"It was good to see us hitting the court so much tonight," he said. "There were several balls that should have and could've gone down for a Concordia point, but we just had some incredible digs."
