CONQUERING THE CANYON

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. --- No. 1 California Baptist University opened up the Volleyball Hall of Fame Classic by crushing Grand Canyon in three-straight sets (25-16, 25-16, 25-22) Friday night.

A day after the Lancers pummeled Harvard, hitting a season-best .466, CBU one upped itself by ripping 45 kills on 71 attempts and just eight errors, for a .521 hitting percentage.

CBU got 17 kills from Levi Cabral and 14 kills from Sebastien Steigmeier, as both players hit better than .500 for the match.

Grand Canyon jumped out to a 4-3 lead in the opening game before an attack error evened the set. Steigmeier then led the Lancers on a three-point charge, ripping a kill and then serving up two aces in a row to put CBU ahead 7-4.

The Lancers would not trail again until the Antelopes took a 1-0 lead in the third set.

Grand Canyon kept the score close the entire third game, playing even with the Lancers until it was 22-22. A kill by Steigmeier broke the tie and Blair Penner, Aaron McCalmont and Ricky Brazee combined to stuff the Antelopes' Ben Hunt, forcing match point.

Out of a timeout Ben Ponnet failed to connect on the kill attempt, ending the match for Grand Canyon.

The win extends the Lancers win streak to eight matches as they improve to 9-3. Grand Canyon falls to 5-9 on the season. It is the second loss CBU had handed the Antelopes this season, defeating them at home on Jan. 14.

The Lancers advance to the championship match of the classic tomorrow at 5 p.m., facing the winner of the Springfield vs. University of the Pacific match being played tonight at 5 p.m.

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