California Baptist University
2-1
San Francisco State
2-1
Back in the Sweep of Things
9/6/2014 10:43:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HAYWARD, Calif. – After splitting the first day, California Baptist University women's volleyball had something to prove in the second half of Cal State East Bay's Route 92 Showdown. The Lancers did so with sweeps of both San Francisco State (25-21, 25-21, 26-24) and Holy Names (25-14, 25-18, 25-16) Saturday.
"Volleyball is such a games that's based on synergy and chemistry and it was clear we were still working through all that [in the first day]," said head coach Branden Higa. "We kind of shuffled lineups a little bit and I think we found one that works pretty well."
CBU, which is receiving votes in the NCAA Division II top-25 polls, improves to 3-1 headed into its tournament -- the GNAC-PacWest Crossover -- next week. SF State moved to 2-1 before facing the host Pioneers later Saturday, while Holy Names slides to 0-4 to start the season.
Jordyn Siko played both matches Saturday and finished with 65 assists. Lauren Hackett had a team-high 24 kills on the day, followed by Michelle Waber's 19. Liberos Becky Moodie and Tori Hinderaker continued to solidify the defense with 28 and 27 digs, respectively. Jessica Harris had six aces and eight blocks on the day.
CBU had to mount a comeback in the first set against SFSU after falling into an early 7-1 hole. Things still did not look too good when the Gators held a 15-10 advantage later. Things began to turn on consecutive kills from Waber, one apiece for Hackett and McCord and another from Waber to bring CBU within 15-14.
SF State countered with a kill from Jazmine Williams, but the Lancers tied things up for the first time at 17-17 after a Waber kill and Gators error. After playing to three more ties at 18, 19 and 20, the Lancers took their first multi-point lead and closed out the set on four-straight SFSU errors.
CBU kept things running in the second set and held as big as a six-point lead, 17-11, before the Gators mounted a late charge to pull within a point, 19-18. Higa called a timeout to regroup and he got the response he wanted. A pair of Hackett kills served as book ends for a 4-0 CBU run.
With the Lancers up 23-18, SF State managed to come within 23-20 before kills from Hackett and Waber ended the second set in CBU's favor, 25-21.
CBU trailed again early in the third set, 8-3, which turned out to be the most competitive with eight ties. The Lancers climbed out of their early deficit to force ties at 13, 14, 15 and 16. The Gators were forced to call a timeout after four-straight errors put them down 21-19.
SFSU managed to tie things up at 24, but Kristin McCord kept the match from going to a fourth set with straight kills.
Siko logged a double-double against SFSU, with 35 assists and 12 digs to go along with four blocks. Waber and Hackett benefitted from Siko's passes, with 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Moodie and Hinderaker finished with 16 and 15 digs, respectively.
"I was happy with how we came back after day one to get a big win against a good San Francisco State team," said Higa. "We figured out some of the things we had to, we scraped, defended and were mentally tougher. I thought there was a ton of progress that was made and I am encouraged by what we can do."
In the next match versus Holy Names, Hackett had a team-high 13 kills, while Jenna Perry added nine for the Lancers. Siko chipped in 30 more assists, while Hinderaker and Moodie tied for the team-high in digs with 12 each. CBU had an impressive nine aces in the match, paced by Harris' four and two from Siko and Hinderaker.
In the two opening sets of the match, CBU and Holy Names kept it close before the Lancers pulled away about halfway through.
Down 9-8 in the first set, CBU used a 5-0 run – highlighted by two Siko aces and two kills from Hackett – to take control at 13-9. A pair of 3-0 runs, with the latter fueled by two Waber kills, ballooned CBU's advantage to 20-11. Two kills from Hackett and another from Lauren Marr closed out the set, 25-14, for the Lancers.
A 7-1 spurt put CBU up comfortably in the second, 19-11. Higa began making more substitutions and the reserves maintained the level of play to close out the second set, 25-18.
Things were tied at 12 in the third set before a 3-0 run gave CBU a 15-12 lead – one it would not relinquish. A 7-0 run sparked by three kills from Perry and a Harris ace put the Lancers on the edge of a win, up 22-14. McCord capped the sweep with an ace to send the Lancers home with a 3-1 record.
CBU is back in action Thursday in the GNAC-PacWest Crossover. It will open against Western Washington at 7:30 p.m. in the Van Dyne Gym Thursday, continuing Friday with a match against Alaska-Anchorage (3:45 p.m.) and a doubleheader Saturday against Central Washington (noon) and Northwest Nazarene (7:30 p.m.)
