Wednesday, October 12
Riverside, Calif.
7 p.m.
California Baptist University
3
vs
2
Azusa Pacific
1
2
3
4
5
F
Azusa Pacific
25
21
21
25
10
2
California Baptist
17
25
25
17
15
3
Photo by: Jacob Gonzalez
CBU Defeats APU in Record Fashion
10/12/2016 10:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – In front of a record, standing-room only crowd against its conference rival, California Baptist University pulled out a big win Wednesday night against Azusa Pacific.
For the fourth match in a row, the Lancers played five sets and defeated the Cougars, 17-25, 25-21, 25-21, 17-25, 15-10 in the Van Dyne Gym. CBU improves to 13-4, 8-1 in the PacWest and APU drops to 7-11, 3-6.
CBU remains in second place in the conference, while Dixie State leads with a 7-0 PacWest record, sitting 11-4 overall.
"It's great playing APU, every match is special and every match is tough," Coach Branden Higa said. "We have battled back and forth for years, and one thing you know is they're going to be up for the match."
The Lancers were the last ones standing, though, in front of 1,054 fans. It was the biggest crowd to ever witness a women's volleyball match in the Van Dyne Gym.
"The crowd was unbelievable, they were vocal, they were into it and they were a huge part of this win," Higa said. "It's part of our tradition. We like knowing at home it's going to be loud and it's going to be raucous and [the crowd] really pushed it over the top. In the huddle, our players were saying, 'we can't lose in front of this crowd, in front of these fans.'"
"It was super fun playing in front of this crowd, it was such an adrenaline rush," opposite hitter Jenna Perry said. "It's cool to have them come out and support this rivalry, and we just wanted to give them a good time."
Despite APU winning two sets, CBU came through when it mattered most with a dominant fifth set. The Lancers hit an errorless .438, with seven kills on 16 swings in that final game.
"It was a nice performance down the stretch," Higa said, "we cleaned it up a ton and came away with the W."
Lauren Hackett led CBU in the fifth, with four kills and no errors on 10 swings. Consecutive ball-handling errors from APU and a Perry kill gave the Lancers an immediate advantage, 3-1, in set five.
The Cougars battled back and even took a lead, 9-8, to force a CBU timeout. The Lancers responded perfectly out of the break, with a Hackett kill, another APU error and Tori Ortman ace started a 3-0 run for an 11-9 lead. Consecutive miscues from the Cougars and then a Hackett spike kept the run going and gave the Lancers match point, 14-10. Hackett came back and finished it off with her 16th and final kill of the night.
Three Lancers finished with double-digit kills. Lauren Marr hit .300, with 10 kills and one error on 30 attacks, while Perry posted a double-double with 15 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Hackett finished on the verge of a double-double, with her match-high 16 kills, nine digs and five blocks.
"It's always really fun playing APU," Perry said. "They always bring their best when they play against us, and we have to compete."
Ortman posted a match-high 20 digs. In four sets, setter Sydney Kralj managed to log a double-double with 34 assists and 10 digs. Nicci Hinderaker gave CBU six players with nine digs or more. Jessica Harris put down a match-high six blocks, while fellow middle Abbie Gortsema finished with six kills and four blocks.
"It was really a big team effort. If you look at the numbers, it wasn't one of our signature, characteristic wins," Higa said. "Tonight, it was about grittiness. We dug some balls and we covered 30 to 40 swings. We just battled hard, which is something I am really proud of. There was never a sense we were giving up or we're done fighting, we just played a gritty match."
After Azusa Pacific won the first set, Ortman helped keep CBU afloat with eight digs in set two. An early 10-1 run, fueled by the serves of Elizabeth Gilley, gave the Lancers an 11-4 lead in the game.
APU did not go away easy and fought back within two, 20-18, before Harris and Perry restored a 22-18 cushion with consecutive kills. Perry logged three points in a row for CBU to force set point, 24-20, which the Lancers grabbed after APU snuck in a point.
Six blocks helped the Lancers pull away in set three, as Harris posted four and Hackett assisted on three in the set. CBU found itself down 9-5 early, but turned things around with a 7-2 run. Marr put down three points in the charge, while Perry added a kill and ace to give their team a 17-14 edge.
Another 4-1 run, coming on two Hackett points, helped put the set out of reach for the Lancers, before they sealed the deal at 25-21.
For the fourth match in a row, the Lancers played five sets and defeated the Cougars, 17-25, 25-21, 25-21, 17-25, 15-10 in the Van Dyne Gym. CBU improves to 13-4, 8-1 in the PacWest and APU drops to 7-11, 3-6.
CBU remains in second place in the conference, while Dixie State leads with a 7-0 PacWest record, sitting 11-4 overall.
"It's great playing APU, every match is special and every match is tough," Coach Branden Higa said. "We have battled back and forth for years, and one thing you know is they're going to be up for the match."
The Lancers were the last ones standing, though, in front of 1,054 fans. It was the biggest crowd to ever witness a women's volleyball match in the Van Dyne Gym.
"The crowd was unbelievable, they were vocal, they were into it and they were a huge part of this win," Higa said. "It's part of our tradition. We like knowing at home it's going to be loud and it's going to be raucous and [the crowd] really pushed it over the top. In the huddle, our players were saying, 'we can't lose in front of this crowd, in front of these fans.'"
"It was super fun playing in front of this crowd, it was such an adrenaline rush," opposite hitter Jenna Perry said. "It's cool to have them come out and support this rivalry, and we just wanted to give them a good time."
Despite APU winning two sets, CBU came through when it mattered most with a dominant fifth set. The Lancers hit an errorless .438, with seven kills on 16 swings in that final game.
"It was a nice performance down the stretch," Higa said, "we cleaned it up a ton and came away with the W."
Lauren Hackett led CBU in the fifth, with four kills and no errors on 10 swings. Consecutive ball-handling errors from APU and a Perry kill gave the Lancers an immediate advantage, 3-1, in set five.
The Cougars battled back and even took a lead, 9-8, to force a CBU timeout. The Lancers responded perfectly out of the break, with a Hackett kill, another APU error and Tori Ortman ace started a 3-0 run for an 11-9 lead. Consecutive miscues from the Cougars and then a Hackett spike kept the run going and gave the Lancers match point, 14-10. Hackett came back and finished it off with her 16th and final kill of the night.
Three Lancers finished with double-digit kills. Lauren Marr hit .300, with 10 kills and one error on 30 attacks, while Perry posted a double-double with 15 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Hackett finished on the verge of a double-double, with her match-high 16 kills, nine digs and five blocks.
"It's always really fun playing APU," Perry said. "They always bring their best when they play against us, and we have to compete."
Ortman posted a match-high 20 digs. In four sets, setter Sydney Kralj managed to log a double-double with 34 assists and 10 digs. Nicci Hinderaker gave CBU six players with nine digs or more. Jessica Harris put down a match-high six blocks, while fellow middle Abbie Gortsema finished with six kills and four blocks.
"It was really a big team effort. If you look at the numbers, it wasn't one of our signature, characteristic wins," Higa said. "Tonight, it was about grittiness. We dug some balls and we covered 30 to 40 swings. We just battled hard, which is something I am really proud of. There was never a sense we were giving up or we're done fighting, we just played a gritty match."
After Azusa Pacific won the first set, Ortman helped keep CBU afloat with eight digs in set two. An early 10-1 run, fueled by the serves of Elizabeth Gilley, gave the Lancers an 11-4 lead in the game.
APU did not go away easy and fought back within two, 20-18, before Harris and Perry restored a 22-18 cushion with consecutive kills. Perry logged three points in a row for CBU to force set point, 24-20, which the Lancers grabbed after APU snuck in a point.
Six blocks helped the Lancers pull away in set three, as Harris posted four and Hackett assisted on three in the set. CBU found itself down 9-5 early, but turned things around with a 7-2 run. Marr put down three points in the charge, while Perry added a kill and ace to give their team a 17-14 edge.
Another 4-1 run, coming on two Hackett points, helped put the set out of reach for the Lancers, before they sealed the deal at 25-21.
Team Stats
APU-VB
CBU-VB
Kills
62
50
Errors
26
22
Attempts
163
150
Hitting %
.221
.187
Points
76.0
65.0
Assists
59
47
Aces
7
5
Blocks
7.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
LIB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
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