NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPION DOWNED

Thursday, August 23

Tampa, FL

4:30 p.m.

California Baptist University

University of Tampa

NCAA DIVISION II CHAMPION DOWNED

8/23/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. ? California Baptist University kicked off the 2007 season with a bang Thursday night as the Lancers took down the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, Tampa, 3-1 (24-30, 30-21, 30-21, 30-15).

“Tampa is a very good team and they had a great crowd tonight that was loud, but we showed composure and poise to pull off the final three games,” said CBU head coach Ryan McGuyre. “I am so excited for our team because everyone contributed and produced in a significant way and that made for a fun atmosphere.”

The Spartans (0-1) were ranked No. 1 in their preseason poll and took the opening set away from CBU (1-0), but the Lancers ripped off three straight sets to take the first match of the Tampa Classic. The win broke the Spartans' 18-match winning streak that dated back to Sept. 29, 2006. CBU also broke Tampa's home-court winning streak of 35 consecutive matches. The last loss UT suffered at the Bob Martinez Sports Center came back in 2004.

“I like to be tested early so that's why I try to schedule matches like this at the start of the season,” said McGuyre. “This type of match tonight shows the type of perseverance this team has.”

Verania Willis set the tone for the Lancers as she recorded a game-high 26 kills hitting .377 (26-6-53) for the night. Nine of the 26 kills came in the final game of the match. Kayla Van Duyn picked up where she left off after spending a year at CSU-Stanislaus as she had 45 assists. Shi Fei ripped 11 kills while Yudelka Bonilla tallied nine.

“Vera struggled in game one, but finished the night playing great,” said McGuyre. “She's a big part of our offense. We felt like that piece was missing early and that we were slightly off, but we battled in that first game. Game two felt like a 30-28 game and we got a little run and came back around.”

As a team, CBU served nine aces, five of which came from Brittney Barton. In the fourth game Barton got three straight aces in the midst of a 5-0 run. Both Mical Bell and Willis recorded a pair of aces.

“We served a lot tougher in games two, three and four,” said McGuyre. “That was difference. Brittney broke the match wide open in games three and four.”

After dropping the first match, the Lancers trailed 4-1 in the second game and rallied with a 5-0 run to take a 6-4 lead. With the game tied at 15, CBU scored two straight points and never relinquished the lead from that point on. The Lancers fell behind just one time in the final two games at that was at 2-1 early in the fourth game and finished the match with a 14-5 run.

On the defensive side, the Lancers allowed only one Spartan to have more than eight kills as Alisha Green totaled 13. Katrina Clark dug out 17 attacks for CBU while Willis had 12 digs.

CBU will play Colorado-Colorado Springs tomorrow at 2 p.m. before ending the tournament with Western Washington Saturday.