California Baptist University
Hawaii Pacific
Sea Sweepers
10/18/2013 8:04:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HONOLULU, Hawaii --- California Baptist University opened its three-match Hawaii road swing in style, downing Hawaii Pacific in straight sets to maintain its hold on the second spot in the conference standings.
The Lancers handled the Sea Warriors 25-19, 25-18, 25-17, moving to 13-6 overall and 10-1 in the PacWest. HPU falls to 13-5, 7-3.
“I thought this was one of our most complete matches so far this year,” said CBU Head Coach Branden Higa. “We played really scrappy defense, we handled the ball well and we executed. That's what we've been trying to do all year, so it was nice to see it come together in a big win tonight.”
Both teams were battling to stay near the top of the crowded PacWest standings, but it was CBU that held on to its spot just behind 11-0 Point Loma when the night was finished.
The Lancers used a late four point run in the opener to go up 20-16, cruising through the last five points to take the 1-0 lead.
CBU found some space earlier on in the second game, turning on the block at the net as they stuffed HPU four times to take a 17-12 lead. Lauren Marr ignited a quick three-point run with a solo stuff at the center of the net as CBU pulled away midway through the game.
After winning the second game by seven, the Lancers kept the momentum going with a 6-2 run to open the third.
CBU went up by as much as seven in the final game, but the Sea Warriors made a push midway through, pulling to within 16-14 on five straight points. After trading points, Malika O'Brien and Jelena Dragovic each put away a pair of kills to give CBU a 22-17 advantage.
“When they started coming back we knew we just needed to keep going at it, keep swinging and we would break through,” said O'Brien, who finished the night with eight kills and five blocks. “Our team never gets too down and we did a good job staying focused tonight.”
HPU errors down the stretch would seal it for the Lancers as CBU won by eight, the team's largest margin of the night.
CBU got nine kills from Kim McCalmont and seven from both Marr and Dragovic. The Lancers totaled nine blocks, getting six from Jenna Perry.
HPU hit just .061 on the night, with four players in the negative on the attack.
“It was really important for us to start off the road trip with a win like this,” said Dragovic. “I thought we played really steady tonight and were focused on what we needed to do to win. This is a tough team, so beating them in their gym is not easy.”
The Lancers face Chaminade Friday night before closing the trip against No. 5 BYU-Hawaii on Saturday.
