California Baptist University
Dixie State University
DETERMINED IN DIXIE
9/17/2011 10:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
ST. GEORGE, Utah --- California Baptist University hit plenty of bumps along the way, but came out victorious in its Pacific West Conference opener, defeating Dixie State 3-1.
The Lancers dropped the opening set, but rallied with a dominating second game before pulling out the final two sets in tense fashion to win 23-25, 25-11, 26-24, 25-23.
"We're on the road and happy to get this win in our conference opener," said Head Coach Ryan McGuyre. "It was really once our defense stepped it up late that we were able to finish it off. Ingrid Carmona was also huge for us again."
Carmona posted a season-high 29 kills on 66 attempts (.364 attack percentage) in the contest. It is the second such outburst in as many matches as Carmona posted 27 kills on 56 attempts just three nights earlier.
Playing in its first ever PacWest match, CBU fell behind 10-3 to open the first set, but rallied and eventually evened the game at 17-17. The Lancers were unable to complete the comeback however and fell behind 1-0.
CBU responded quickly, opening the second game 12-5 and would never let Dixie State get back in it, taking the set by 14 points. The Lancers needed just 16 kills on 30 attempts to put the Red Storm away, as the home team committed seven errors while recording just seven kills in the game.
As was the case last Wednesday against Cal State LA for CBU, the rubber game became the clincher. Neither team could establish a true advantage throughout the third set, which featured 15 ties and eight lead changes throughout.
CBU would take a slim 10-8 lead early in the game, but the Red Storm quickly rattled off four straight points to go up 12-10, forcing a Lancer timeout. Out of the timeout CBU went right back to its ace, setting Carmona early and often in each volley as she recorded four kills on the next eight points to keep her team in the game.
As the teams continued to trade points, CBU eventually grabbed set point at 24-23 on a Red Storm error. Brita Jensen kept the game alive for the home team with a clutch kill on the very next point. With everyone expecting Carmona to get the next two sets for the Lancers, it was Andrea Csaszi who would finish the game off for CBU. Csaszi smashed a ball off the Red Storm block to get set point right back for the Lancers and then finished the game with a second-straight kill, getting the set from Carmona on the final point.
Trailing 2-1, Dixie State tried to mount a comeback, but the Lancers used two crucial runs to dash the hopes of the home fans. CBU strung together four straight points after falling behind 10-5 early and then finished the match with a run of six to take the final game 25-23. CBU had fallen behind 23-19, but out of a timeout the Lancers regrouped to finish the match in four.
"We got a good run of serves from Jessica Kalama there at the end that really helped carry us through to the end," said McGuyre.
CBU hit .312 in the match, committing 17 errors to its 70 kills. Csaszi was the only other Lancer with a double-digit kill total at 11. Kalama led all players with 20 digs. Jordyn Siko posted a season high 50 assists in the four set match.
The Red Storm hit .152 in the contest with 24 errors on its 50 kills. Dixie State did out-block the Lancers 8-6. Alex Shearer led the team with 17 kills.
The Lancers move to 7-3 overall, 1-0 PacWest, while Dixie State falls to 5-4, 0-1. CBU returns home for a matchup with Inland Area rival, third-ranked Cal State San Bernardino, next Wednesday at 7 p.m.
