California Baptist University
Fresno Pacific
FALLING ONE SHORT
11/17/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
FRESNO, Calif. ? California Baptist will now set its eyes on the NAIA National Tournament in a little over a week after the second-ranked Lancers fell to No. 1 Fresno Pacific 3-0 (30-27, 30-26, 30-17), Saturday, at the NAIA Region II Tournament championship game. The Lancers (27-3) lose for the first time in 11 games since they last played the Sunbirds (31-1). In fact, three of CBU's four losses came from Fresno Pacific.
The Lancers got 18 kills from Verania Willis who was just two digs short of a double-double with eight. Yudelka Bonilla and Shi Fei both had 10 kills, Kayla Van Duyn dished out 34 assists and Katrina Clark recorded 12 digs.
The Lancers held a 14-12 lead midway through the first game, but watched the Sunbirds go on a 6-1 run to take an 18-15 lead. The Lancers battled back and tied the game twice before it took a 23-22 lead on a Fei kill, but FPU put the game away when it broke a 24-24 tie with a 4-0 run on the way to take a 1-0 match lead.
CBU got within two at 19-17 in game two, but the Sunbirds used a 6-0 run to take a 25-17 lead and looked to be on their way to a 2-0 lead. The Lancers answered later, trailing 27-20, with a 5-1 run to get within three at 28-25, but Fresno closed the game with a couple of kills. The Lancers ran out of gas, or may have conserved it for Columbia, Mo., in game three as it fell 30-17.
The Lancers are expected to enter the national tournament as the second seed and will find out next week who they will play. The tournament kicks off Nov. 28, in Columbia, Mo., with pool play the first two days. The quarterfinals will start Nov. 30 and the semifinals and championship games will be played Dec. 1.
