California Baptist University
Alberta (exhibition)
Oh Canada
1/3/2012 7:01:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
By Daniel Cross Sports Information Graduate Intern
RIVERSIDE, Calif.--- California Baptist University showed some true grit in a five set exhibition match Monday but fell late to the Golden Bears from Alberta.
After falling early in the first two sets, the Lancers showed determination to make a comeback. After winning the third and fourth set the Lancers tied the match up at 2-2, but it would be the Golden Bears who would come out on top in the fifth and get the victory 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 15-25, 18-25, 15-12).
"The great thing about CBU is no matter win or lose the team knows they are playing for a higher purpose and that God is the head coach," said Interim Head Coach Allan Vince, who begins his first year for the Lancers. "We played together as a team and that is the best part about this group of guys; That we win together and we lose together, there are no individuals, it is all about the team and that is a big bonus."
In the first set it was the Golden Bears who had control and set the pace of the game hitting .421 and only committing two attacking errors along with one service error. On the home side, the Lancers hit .500 but tallied six service errors and also had three attacking errors.
The third and fourth sets were a completely different Lancer team hitting .301 and .290. In the second set the team had three blocks, but in the third and fourth CBU tallied eight blocks.
The Lancers led in assists, blocks, and hitting percentage as a team but the unforced errors would be too much to overcome. The Lancers had 55 total assists with Connor Metcalfe having 39 of his own and the Golden Bears had a total of 32 with Tegan McGraw leading the team with 22.
Kristopher Johnson and Aaron McCalmont, who had 16 and 14 kills on the night led the Lancers offensively.
CBU also out-dug the Golden Bears 33-25.
"Every guy brings something different to this team and when we can be consistent it shows an incredible difference," said Vince. "We have a ton of talent within this team and when we play consistent we can spark some great plays and that's what got us so close at the end."
CBU's schedule will not get any easier as they are set to compete against 13 NCAA Division I teams this season. The Lances will be back in the Van Dyne Gym on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. against NCAA Division I USC. CBU opens the season at UC Irvine Wednesday.
