California Baptist University
4-3
Central Washington
7-1
Crossover Concludes
9/13/2014 10:21:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CBU wended the GNAC-PacWest Crossover with two tough losses to No. 13 Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene, which is receiving votes in the NCAA Division II top-25...
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – California Baptist University got to see some of the top competition in the nation during the first two days of its GNAC-PacWest Crossover, and the trying schedule continued Saturday.
The Lancers squared off with another top-15 ranked team in the NCAA Division II and another that was receiving votes in No. 13 Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene Saturday at the Van Dyne Gym. CBU battled both teams but could not come out with a victory on the final day of the crossover.
Most of the Lancers' sets were just a few points from going the other way, with CWU winning in four (25-22, 26-28, 25-22, 25-23) and the Crusaders earning a three-set sweep (25-14, 28-26, 25-21). CBU moves to 4-4 on the season, while the Wildcats and NNU are now both 7-1.
Lauren Hackett finished the day with 29 kills, Jessica Harris followed with 21 kills, while Michelle Waber had 18 kills and 21 digs. Becky Moodie led the Lancers in digs both matches, with 30 in all and Jordyn Siko led them in assists with 89 helpers and 16 digs.
The Lancers trailed 19-14 in their first set with the Wildcats before a 4-0 run brought them within one, 20-19. Kills from Hackett and Harris and a Moodie ace helped make up the run. A 3-1 spurt put the Wildcats back up by three, 23-20, but a kill from Hackett and setting error put CBU back within a point, 23-22. Central Washington came away with the final two points to end the set, 25-22.
CBU trailed again in the second set, 21-19, but it used a 3-0 run sponsored by a Jenna Perry kill and two Wildcat errors put the home team in front, 22-21. Both teams battled to five more ties down the stretch at 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26.
Perry broke the tie at 26 with a kill, forcing a Wildcats timeout. The Lancers came out of the break and got a big kill from Lauren Marr to win the set, 28-26, and tie the match.
Things were just as tight in the third set, with ties being forced late at 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21. A two-point Wildcat run put them in front 23-21 before a Perry kill kept CBU within striking distance. CWU answered back with a two-point run, punctuated by a Linden Firethorne to take the swing set, 25-22.
It was more of the same in the fourth set, with the Lancers launching an impressive run in the middle of the set to keep things tense for the Wildcats. Down 12-8, CBU forced a 14-14 tie with a 6-2 run. Perry, Siko and Hackett had kills during the run but the Lancers could not pull ahead, settling for ties at 16, 17, 20, 21 and 23.
Down 23-21, kills from Hackett and Harris tied things backup for the Lancers but the Wildcats got kills from Julie Hulbert and Kiah Jones to avoid a fifth set in Van Dyne.
In the nightcap, the Crusaders took charge in the first set and the Lancers looked to even things up in the second frame. There were a total of 14 ties in the set, but CBU began to gain some distance with a 4-0 run, off four-straight Hackett kills, gave it a 16-13 lead. Consecutive kills from Perry maintained the Lancers' three-point lead, 21-18.
The Crusaders closed in and took a 24-23 lead with a 6-2 run, but a Hackett kill tied things back up at 24. An NNU error and Waber kill kept the score even at 25 and 26, but Michelle Terpstra gave Northwest Nazarene a kill that led to the hard-fought 28-26 victory for the visitors.
CBU set the tone early in the third set, jumping out to a 9-5 lead early. The Crusaders were determined to end the match early, though, battling back to ties at 10, 11, 12, 14, 17 and 18. Consecutive kills fueled a 3-0 run that gave NNU a 21-18 advantage.
Harris and Waber halted the spurt with straight kills to keep CBU within a point, 21-20. Northwest Nazarene got back-to-back kills of its own from Kendra Bodine and Terpstra to take a strong 23-20 lead. Harris came back with another kill to keep hope alive, but the Crusaders closed the set and match out with two more points.
The Lancers move on to PacWest play next week. They will continue their homestand, opening with Holy Names Thursday and Fresno Pacific Friday, both at 7:00 p.m.
