Fighting for Everything

Friday, September 4

Hayward, Calif.

1 PM

California Baptist University

1-0

Cal State East Bay

0-2

CBU

Cal St. East Bay

Photo by: Lauren Garcia

9/4/2015 4:13:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

HAYWARD, Calif. – Nothing was going to be handed to California Baptist University on the first day of the season. The Lancers had to work for everything they got at the fourth annual Route 92 Showdown, but they were up to the task, pulling out 3-1 wins over Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay Friday to start out 2-0.

CBU had to show something different in each match, coming back from a tough set loss to defeat CSUEB (25-21, 14-25, 25-21, 26-24) before holding off a late rally from CSUMB (25-9, 25-15, 19-25, 25-21). The Pioneers begin the 2015 campaign 0-2, while the Otters slide to 1-1. The Lancers close out the first week of the season with matches against Chico State and Cal State Dominguez Hills at 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively, Saturday at Notre Dame de Namur.

Lauren Hackett put up 33 kills, 18 digs and five aces Friday after notching a double-double in the opener (18 kills, 10 digs). Jenna Perry produced 24 kills after hitting double digits in kills and digs against the Pioneers, and Lauren Marr had 10 kills in each match to finish with an even 20 overall.

Tori Ortman logged 31 digs on the day, with 16 against the Otters, and Jordyn Siko averaged 10.67 assists a set (64 overall) and logged 22 digs on the day after notching 43 assists and 19 digs in the day's finale. Jessica Harris smacked 16 kills and blocked 11 shots in the middle for CBU.

When looking for the turning point in the match, one need search no further than CBU's 16-4 run that closed out the third set in its favor. The Lancers got the start they wanted against the Pioneers, but the home team took back momentum by winning the second set and then grabbing a commanding 17-9 lead in the third. Harris helped turn things around with a kill and an attacking error preceded two spikes from Perry, which brought the deficit to 17-13 and prompted a Cal State East Bay timeout.

A kill from CSUEB's Michaela Gardner out of the break could not hold back a 6-0 charge from the Lancers, which gave them their first lead of the set, 19-18. Lauren Marr highlighted the run with two kills, while Siko, Abbie Gortsema and Hackett had one each, as well.

"We showed some grit today, coming back from a 17-9 deficit was no small task," Coach Branden Higa said. "We need to do a better job of avoiding those scenarios. We gave away a lot of points on hitting errors, cleaning that up will solve a lot of problems."

The Pioneers would tie things back up after another timeout, but the Lancers sealed the come-from-behind set victory on a 6-2 run as Hackett powered down consecutive kills for points 23 and 24.

Play went back and forth in the final set, with 14 ties and eight lead changes. CSUEB got a little separation when it grabbed a 17-15 lead, but then Hackett came alive and tallied five of her set-high six kills the rest of the way. She fueled a 5-1 Lancers' run with three kills, giving them a 21-18 edge. The Pioneers knotted the score back up at 21, but another Hackett kill and Pioneer error gave CBU another 23-21 lead.

Not out of the woods yet, CSUEB used a 3-0 run to grab set point, 24-23. Hackett smacked another kill to keep the match from going a full five sets, tying the match at 24. Consecutive attacking errors, the final as a result of a solo block by Gortsema, secured the CBU victory at 26-24.

While the Lancers dug in late and refused to let the match get away, they were at their best in the first set. Jordan Carter dished out 14 assists and guided the drove the offense out to a sky-high .394 hitting percentage. Gortsema had a set-high five kills on a .833 percentage, along with three blocks, in the opener.

Middle blockers Harris (eight kills on a .615 percentage, six blocks) and Gortsema (nine kills, five blocks) played both sides of the net well in the victory. The Lancers also received 15 digs from Ortman and seven more from her sister Nicci Hinderaker, who was making her collegiate debut.

There was little CBU could and would do wrong in the first two sets against Cal State Monterey Bay, as the Lancers hit .457 (30 kills, 3 errors on 59 attempts) and held the Otters to a .017 (15-14-59). Hackett and Perry each had eight kills over that span, while Marr had five of her own.

CSUMB started strong in the third set and rode that momentum to a 25-19 victory, and battled tough in the fourth, as well. CBU bounced back and jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the final frame, with two aces and a kill from Hackett serving as the spark. Two more kills from Hackett highlighted a late 4-0 run that gave the Lancers match point, 24-17. The Otters would tally four straight before Hackett sealed the victory with her 33^rd kill of the day.