California Baptist University
Fresno Pacific
Lancers Dig Out Late Winner
9/19/2014 10:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CBU swept PacWest-rival Fresno Pacific (25-18, 25-21, 33-31) behind a career-high 22 kills from freshman Lauren Hackett Friday night in the Van Dyne Gym...
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Things did not always come easy for California Baptist University against its PacWest rival Fresno Pacific Friday night, but that was alright by head coach Branden Higa.
CBU appeared it was going to cruise through the conference match in the Van Dyne Gym after winning the first two sets with room to spare and then holding match point in the third game. FPU made things plenty interesting in that final set, however, but was ultimately undone by the hitting prowess of the Lancers' Lauren Hackett in a 25-18, 25-21, 33-31 CBU victory.
"That was everything we wanted, we talked before the match about things not coming easy and how people love to get things easy but rarely is anything worth achieving easy," Higa said. "That's the perfect summary of what happened, we played well in the first two sets but FPU responded in that last set and they did not make things easy. What I really wanted more than anything was for our team to come alive when things got tough and they did, they battled."
Hackett compiled a career-high 22 kills on a .400 kill percentage, while coming up with big points all night.
"That was the most energy we've had in the gym," said Hackett, who had 11 kills in the third set, including her team's final three points. "We came out with a goal and we accomplished that goal.
"[The third set] was really, really fun," the freshman added. "The energy on the court, playing off each other's energy and it being so loud made it a super fun set."
Jordyn Siko finished with a double-double on 46 assists and 10 digs – going to Hackett often. Michelle Waber also came close to a double-double for CBU, with 14 digs and nine kills. Jenna Perry and Lauren Marr finished with eight kills each for the Lancers, who received 19 digs from Becky Moodie and 10 from Kristin McCord.
"[Siko's] sets were awesome, they were on, and our team's passing was great – it was definitely a team thing," Hackett said of her career-high kills.
CBU improves to 6-4, 2-0 in the PacWest on the year, while the Sunbirds slide to 6-5, 0-2 in conference. While the sweep came, it was later than expected for the Lancers, who held match point on six occasions before delivering on their seventh attempt.
"Give it to FPU, we thought we had that match about five times, but they just kept playing and playing," Higa said. "They love the spotlight, they love the battle, too, but so does our team."
Down 21-19 in the final set, a sneaky kill from Siko and a spike from Hackett tied things up at 21-21. Hackett and Siko teamed up for another 2-0 run, with a kill from the outside hitter and ace from the setter giving CBU its first match point, 24-23.
Fresno Pacific battled to take set point, 25-24, on consecutive kills from Gabriela Macedo and Rupia Inck. Hackett kept things from going an extra set with a kill, followed by an ace from Tori Hinderaker prompting match point again, 26-25, for the home side.
The Sunbirds stayed alive on another Inck kill, but Waber and Marr forced match point yet again for the Lancers with kills moving the score to 27-26 and 28-27, respectively. Another Marr attack put CBU in front 29-28, but FPU kept up the fight and held set point at 30-29 after a kill from Macedo.
Waber ended the run, but Hackett stopped out the back-and-forth by scoring the Lancers' final three points with kills to end the long-winded set, 33-31. It all came down to focus in that final set for the Lancers, Hackett said.
"I think just taking it one point at a time," she said of the team's mindset, "realizing you have a job and not trying to jump ahead two or three points. Saying, 'I have a job right now to get this point and I am going to get it done.'"
"We always want to win in three, but I think more important than winning in three was playing another tight match," Higa said. "The greatest thing is that [we] looked comfortable out there in a tough match. With the crowd going crazy, they looked like they'd been there before and they executed."
After a six-match stint in Van Dyne, CBU takes to the road for a Northern California swing to PacWest schools Notre Dame de Namur, Dominican and Academy of Art on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, respectively.
"Going on the road is always tough, especially three matches in a row, so it isn't going to be easy," Higa said. "You don't necessarily want easy, though, you want a challenge."
