California Baptist University
San Francisco State University
DOUBLING UP
9/6/2008 7:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. ? The train keeps moving as California Baptist stretched its win streak to 11 after two wins over Dominican (Calif.) and San Francisco State at the Westmont Invitational.
Fei Shi led the way in both contests ripping 11 kills in the 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-22) victory over the Penguins and notched a career-high 22 kills in the 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-14) triumph against the Gators.
Fei hit a combined .417 (33-3-72) on the day and notched 23 digs with 14 coming against SFSU for her fourth double-double of the year.
In the win over Dominican, the Lancers survived despite hitting just .143 (36-21-105). The Lancers had to lean on their defense which posted 54 digs. Katrina Clark notched 16 digs and Mical Bell added 12 to go with her 18 assists for her first double-double of the year. Noelle Dyk and Shi each added nine digs as well.
Jessica Kalama led the way up front with three blocks while Carolina Flete, Bree Rauschenbach and Shi all had a pair of blocks. Krista Hasemeyer also had 13 assists.
CBU used a 7-1 run in the opening set to take a 19-9 lead and eventually the set. In the second set, the Penguins got within one at 15-14, but a Shi kill sparked a 10-4 run to close the set. Dominican then held a 22-19 lead late in the third, but Shi once again came to the rescue with three of the Lancers' six straight points to take the match.
The Lancers closed out the day with their fifth straight win over a division II opponent this season. Dyk and Colleen Sweeney each hit double figure kills as Dyk ripped 14 and Sweeney hit 10. Hasemeyer dished out a match-high 46 assists while Clark posted a match-high 21digs. Bree Rauschenbach also notched a season-high six blocks.
“Our middles are getting better everyday and they are starting to emerge,” said CBU head coach Ryan McGuyre. “I also thought Nicole Palmer really set us up with how well she served. It might not show up on a stat sheet, but her placement really allowed our defense to do the things they needed to do.”
Palmer finished the day with an ace in each match.
CBU never trailed the Gators in the opening set, but never led by more than three until the final stretch. Late in the set, the Gators cut their deficit to 21-20, but the Lancers scored the final four points to take a 1-0 match lead. After the Lancers took a 2-0 lead in the match, the Lancers dug an early hole in the third and trailed 16-8. CBU stormed back and cut it to 22-21, but SFSU scored the next two points to set up set-point. The Lancers scored back-to-back points to make it 24-23, but a Gator kill put the set away.
Shi turned it on in the fourth set notching seven kills all while hitting .500 to keep the Lancers' winning streak alive.
“Fei really showed us something today that we haven't seen out of her this year,” said McGuyre. “She started bringing some heat and that helped us control our second match. We really had to earn this one and she played the part she needed to.”
The Lancers will now get set for the Golden State Athletic Conference opener when it hosts The Master's, Tuesday, at 7 p.m. inside of Van Dyne.
