California Baptist University
BYU
Close Call
2/4/2014 6:44:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – In front of a capacity crowd in the Van Dyne Gym, California Baptist University put a scare into BYU, the fourth-ranked team in the NCAA and second-place squad in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
The Lancers took the Cougars deep into overtime in the first set and nearly took the one-game lead on the visitors before BYU scored four straight points to win the first 33-31 and ride that momentum to a three-game sweep, winning the last two sets 25-18, 25-20.
California Baptist University falls to 3-7, 2-6 in conference, while BYU improves to 8-3, 8-1.
CBU generated a match-high 10 kills and three aces from Rocky DeLyon. Amir Lugo-Rodriguez continued his strong blocking and tied for the match-high in blocks with four. Johannes Brink contributed seven kills and seven digs, while Jonathan Tuttle and Kristopher Johnson each had six kills.
The Lancers came out strong in front of a packed house and took a 6-3 lead in the first game, on two kills from Brink, one each from Tuttle and Lugo-Rodriguez and one of DeLyon's three aces. CBU maintained the three-point lead out to 12-9 on another Kill from Brink before BYU rallied to a tie at 14.
The Cougars took a small edge, never leading by more than two points, but were serving for the set, up 24-23. A costly service error gave CBU new life, as it battled its way to ties at 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and lastly 31 on another kill from Brink.
BYU just outlasted the Lancers and won the overtime set, 33-31, on a kill from Michael Hatch and an attacking error.
On a wave of momentum, the Cougars jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the second set. CBU rallied within three, 16-13, with a 4-2 run on two kills from DeLyon and another from Brink and Tuttle. The Lancers would not come any closer in a 25-18 loss.
CBU kept things close in the third and final set, which included nine ties with the last coming at 18. BYU scored consecutive points on kills from Sander and Matt Underwood but only led by one, 20-19, after an attacking error. The Cougars went on to score six of the next seven for the win.
The Lancers head to Hawaii for a span of two matches against No. 11-ranked Hawaii and continue on the road before returning to Van Dyne on Feb. 26 to face USC.
