California Baptist University
Hawaii Pacific
Uphill Battle
11/12/2013 5:59:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- On a night where the seniors and veterans were honored, California Baptist University found itself in an early hole. Despite putting up a battle, the Lancers couldn't come away with the win Monday night over Hawaii Pacific.
The Lancers fell 3-1 (27-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-19) to drop to 17-10 overall, 14-5 in the PacWest. The Sea Warriors, on the other hand, improve to 17-9, 11-7 in conference, with the win.
HPU opened the first set with three unanswered points, but then surrendered three-straight to the Lancers, commencing a back-and-forth battle. Neither team could shake its opponent by more than three points coming down to the wire.
Tied at 23-23, HPU went up by one but an attack error would even the score once again. A long rally ensued before Taylor Parker found a hole in the Sea Warriors' armor to give CBU set point, 25-24. HPU didn't give in that easily, however, battling back to win the set, 27-25.
The second set started in a similar fashion with each team battling for control. Trailing 8-5, the Sea Warriors scored five points in a row to take its first lead of the set. The Lancers tried to keep up with HPU, but started to unravel late in the set.
Leading 14-12, HPU went on a powerful 11-3 run to finish the set with a 25-15 win and take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
In another tight battle, the Lancers broke free in the third set after the Sea Warriors had evened the score at 9-9. CBU put together an 11-2 run to take a commanding 20-11 lead.
HPU battled back once again to put the set within two, 23-21, taking advantage of CBU's errors. Malika O'Brien and Jenna Perry teammed up to block an attempt from Pomai Recca to put the set within reach at 24-21. The Sea Warriors scored the next two points, putting pressure on the Lancers to seal the deal, before a service error handed CBU the third set, 25-23.
Despite hopes of a CBU comeback, HPU took the first lead of the fourth set and never let go. The Sea Warriors went up by as many as seven points over the Lancers and held on to win the set, 25-19, securing the match victory.
Lauren Marr and O'Brien led the attack for the Lancers, each picking up 12 kills on the night. On the other side of the net, Samantha Marr laid down a game-high 19 kills and 10 digs as the only double-double of the night.
CBU will complete the regular season on the road, heading to Fresno Pacific for a match on Saturday at 7 p.m.
