Perfect Balance in Sweep

Friday, September 25

Riverside, Calif.

7 PM

California Baptist University

Fresno Pacific

California Baptist

Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez

Perfect Balance in Sweep

9/25/2015 9:39:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – While it certainly appeared California Baptist University was in complete control Friday night, evidenced by its sweep of Fresno Pacific, it was all a balancing act for the Lancers.

CBU defeated the Sunbirds 25-17, 25-22, 25-22 in the Van Dyne Gym, thanks in large part to an evenly-spread-out offense and solid defense. Lancer setter Jordyn Siko logged an impressive 39 assists on the night, with three of her hitters picking up double-digit kills – led by outside Lauren Marr and opposite Jenna Perry's 14 each. Lauren Hackett rounded the trio with a double-double (10 kills, 10 digs).

Marr was dialed in, putting away 14 of the 18 balls she attacked for an astronomical .778 percentage, which is the fifth-highest percentage in the program's single-match record books. It was even more impressive considering the Lancers were facing the two-time reigning PacWest Libero of the Year.

"I noticed that swinging deep was working early on, so I just kept going after that until it stopped working, but it never did," Marr said. "I didn't feel like I did anything special, I just felt really relaxed. I just focused on jumping high and swinging hard."

The rest of the Lancers were efficient, as well, hitting .266 overall (49 kills, 20 errors on 109 attempts). Their defense held FPU to a .120 mark (31-18-108), with three CBU players logging 10 digs in Hackett, Nicci Hinderaker and Kristin McCord, and Siko finishing with nine of her own. Kiera Brunson also recorded four blocks in her first start of the season for CBU.

The balanced play improved CBU to 9-2, 2-1 in the PacWest. The Sunbirds slipped to 1-6, 1-1. The Lancers have a big match looming with 24^th-ranked Point Loma Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Van Dyne Gym.

"This match got us energized for tomorrow," Perry said. "We're really excited to get a good battle going and put up a big fight."

CBU steamrolled the Sunbirds in the first set Friday, hitting .357 percent (15-5-28) and holding FPU to a .061 mark (10-8-33). A 4-0 run bookended by kills from Abbie Gortsema (six kills, two blocks) and Hackett gave the home team a quick 12-6 lead. When the Sunbirds pulled within 17-14, Marr and Gortsema spiked consecutive balls to fuel a 3-0 run that helped the Lancers cruise to the 25-17 win.

Hackett, Perry, Gortsema and Marr all had three kills in the first set.

"With a bunch of really good hitters, it is hard for the other team to track us," said Perry, who hit .435 (14-4-23) on the night. "No matter who is front or back row they have to be concerned with our hitters; you can't commit to just one player with us. That helps us run a really good offense, and we all have different hitting styles."

Fresno Pacific led for a majority of the second set, including a 19-17 lead, before Perry led CBU to a two-set edge. In a 20-18 hole, Siko initiated the set-ending 7-2 run with a quick attack and kill. Perry and Hackett scored CBU's next two points to tie things at 21-21, leading into Perry notching three of her team's next-four points with big spikes.

"We kept a positive attitude, even though we were down, so that gave me a lot of motivation to just put the ball down and sideout so we could finish the set," Perry said. "I think our offense was just too quick for FPU, I was only getting one-ups on the block and I was able to hit [Siko's] really good sets."

In set three, FPU led again by a score of 14-11 and kept an edge in the late going, 21-20. This time it was Marr's turn to lead the Lancers back and to a win, as the junior delivered the sweep with three of her kills highlighting a 5-1 match-clinching run.

"We just trust in our team, we definitely felt like we were in control, even when we were down," Marr said. "We know everyone is going to do their job, and we know we can sideout right away."