Sweeping In Seattle

Friday, September 11

Seattle

3:45 PM

California Baptist University

Simon Fraser

Photo by: Andrew Shortall

9/11/2015 6:42:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

SEATTLE – It may not have been reflected in the final results, with both matches ending in sweeps, but California Baptist University had its fair share of adversity to overcome in a doubleheader day at the GNAC-PacWest Crossover Friday.

There was at least one set in each match where the Lancers had to scrap and comeback or hold off an opponent's attempt at a comeback. CBU was up to each and every challenge and improved to 6-1 on the year with sweeps of Simon Fraser (25-17, 25-22, 25-16) and tournament-host Seattle Pacific (25-23, 25-21, 25-15) in the Brougham Gymnasium. Simon Fraser saw its record even up at 3-3 and the Falcons dropped to 2-5. The Lancers have now won four-straight matches by sweep, including all three played at the Crossover in Seattle, with one match to go against Montana State Billings Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

"This whole day, from start to finish, we played to our level," CBU outside hitter Lauren Marr said. "All the hitters and passers were on it, and when we made a mistake we bounced back really quickly."

Lauren Hackett (25), Jenna Perry (24) and Marr (21) led the offense Friday, with each picking up more than 20 kills in two matches. Jordyn Siko averaged 13.3 assists a set, with 80 overall, along with 15 digs, six blocks and five kills.

Defensively, Abbie Gortsema continued to play big with 14 blocks and 13 kills on the day, while Tori Ortman continued to be an anchor with 29 digs, including a 19-dig performance in the finale. Hackett matched the libero's performance with 29 digs of her own.

Collectively, the Lancers continued to flex their muscles on both ends of the net. Versus Simon Fraser, they hit .318 (49 kills, 15 errors on 107 attempts) and held the Clan to a .020 mark (24-22-98). CBU hit .236 (45-19-110) against Seattle Pacific and held it to .064 (29-22-110) on offense.

"We drill our defense a lot in practice because we trust our offense to put a ball away," Marr said. "The back row can really trust the blockers to be there, and vice versa, so everyone is in the right spot. It runs like a machine."

Against the Clan, the Lancers came out and took control early with a 25-17 first set win. Siko dished out 13 assists and dug eight balls in the opener. She spread the offense around, with five Lancers notching multiple kills, led by Marr and Hackett's four each.

SFU put CBU back on its heels in set two by taking an 18-16 lead, but Hackett was determined to bring her team back and tallied six kills in the Lancers' 9-4 comeback run. Hackett powered down two kills to knot the score at 18. Simon Fraser answered back and restored its two-point edge, but a Marr spike and Clan attacking error tied things at 20 and another Hackett kill brought evened things again at 21.

A kill from Siko gave CBU its first lead in the set since 13-12, and it would never look back. Hackett tallied three of the set's final four points on kills, as the Lancers outlasted SFU, 25-22. Hackett logged eight kills in the set overall, and continued her stellar play third.

The Covington, Wash. native accumulated six kills and six digs in the final set, as CBU sped away early with a 10-4 run starting things off. One of the more impressive runs of the set was a 6-0 charge made up of five Hackett kills, including four straight, that put the Lancers up comfortably, 17-7.

Hackett finished with a match-high 18 kills, with just one error on 30 attempts for a .567 percentage, and 14 digs against the Clan. Siko compiled an impressive 41 assists, 11 digs, three blocks and three kills in the sweep of Simon Fraser. Perry and Marr rounded out the offense with 11 and eight kills, respectively, and Gortsema finished with an all-around six blocks and five kills.

Marr and Perry stepped into the limelight against Seattle Pacific and tied for the match high in kills, with 13 each on respective percentages of .400 (13-3-25) and .346 (13-4-26). Gortsema added eight more blocks and eight kills to her tally against the Falcons, who also saw Ortman pick up 19 digs and Hackett supply 15 of her own.

Things went back and forth for most of the first set with SPU. The Lancers were the first to create some momentum, with a 6-2 run transforming an 11-11 tie to a 17-13 CBU advantage. Marr had two kills in the first lengthy run of the match and a Perry kill widened the lead to 21-16.

The Falcons stormed back within one, 21-20, to force a CBU timeout. Harris helped the Lancers regroup with a kill out of the break and a Gortsema spike and SPU error handed CBU set point, 24-21. Seattle Pacific mounted another charge and pulled within 24-23. Desperate to keep the set from going overtime, Marr came up clutch with a set-sealing kill. She finished the first set with seven kills on 10 swings.

"It felt really good to get that kill -- finally," Marr said.

Gortsema also logged four blocks in the first set, frustrating the Falcons' offense time after time.

Set two was played even tighter, with both sides struggling to find any breathing room. A short 3-1 run, fueled by two Gortsema kills, gave CBU an 18-16 edge, and a Hackett kill helped the lead grow to 20-17. Down the stretch, Hackett, Perry and Marr all provided kills to seal the 25-21 win, with Marr providing the clincher yet again.

"It gives me a lot of confidence when my setter trusts me," Marr said. "It makes me want to put a ball away in her because she's confiding in me to win a set."

Tied at 8-8, a 4-0 run fueled by three Hackett kills and a Siko ace gave CBU a 12-8 lead. The Falcons would not pull closer than three points the rest of the way. When SPU did come within 13-10, Perry answered back with a kill, starting a 6-2 run that included two CBU blocks that put the match away quickly.