Pursuit of Perfection Continues

Thursday, October 26

Riverside, Calif.

7 PM

California Baptist University

Biola

California Baptist

Photo by: Conner Schuh

Pursuit of Perfection Continues

10/26/2017 10:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A first-set loss and a five-set match put fifth-ranked California Baptist University in unfamiliar territory versus Biola Thursday night in the Van Dyne Gym.

Nevertheless, the Lancers got the result they've enjoyed all season in a 23-25, 25-19, 25-14, 24-26, 15-11 PacWest victory, thanks in large part to a quick start in the deciding fifth set. It moved CBU to 20-0, 12-0 in the conference and dropped the Eagles to 14-6, 8-4.

"We have to go through matches and situations like this, it would be great to go 3-0 but sometimes you don't learn a lot from that," Coach Branden Higa said. "Tonight was a match that we can take, grow with and hopefully propel us forward. Biola did a really good job of playing their game and doing what they do, so as coaches we have a list of things we can focus on and give to the players to help us get a little better."

It starts off a nice homestand for the Lancers, as they play five of six matches at home, continuing with Point Loma Saturday at 7 p.m.

Biola refused to quit on Thursday and did not let CBU ever get comfortable, but the Lancers did post slight advantages in aces (8-5), blocks (14-11) and digs (66-60).

Madison Witt hit .438, with 16 kills and two errors on 32 attempts, and five blocks, while Sydney Kralj (48 assists, 10 digs, four kills), Lauren Hackett (16 kills, 12 digs, three aces) and McKenna Witt (14 kills, 12 digs, six blocks) both polished off double-doubles.

There were solid contributions all over, as Soleil Smith enjoyed perhaps the finest match of her career with 11 digs and four aces. Yagoda Jedrzejczak also posted eight blocks and six kills.

"It reminds us nothing will be handed to us, we have to earn every win, even if we started the season winning the match in three sets," Smith said. "Every team in our conference is out gunning for us and every team is a good team, they'll give us their best shot and we need to respect them and play hard every time."

An extra time win in set four forced a fifth and final set to decide the ultimate winner. The Lancers came out and seized momentum immediately with an opening run of 6-1.

"We knew we had to come out strong right away and get a good first touch," Smith said.

CBU scored the first three points of the set on a combo block from Madison and Jedrzejczak and then a Hackett ace. Three-straight kills from Madison and a solo block from Sydney Marks then upped the advantage to 7-2.

Biola battled back within two points, 9-7, but a Hackett kill sparked a 4-2 run for the Lancers, which included two team blocks from Madison and Jedrzejczak and a Madison kill to make it 13-9 in favor of CBU. Kills from Madison and McKenna provided CBU's final two points to clinch the match, 15-11.

"We were able to bring just a little more focus and attention to detail to what we do," Higa said of his team's strong start in the fifth set. "When we're playing our best, any of those 50-50, random play we're usually making good contact on them. We were patient, took advantage of the opportunities we were given and that first push was kind of what decided it."

The Lancers overcame a first-set loss with wins in sets two and three. Set two was tied at 19-19 but CBU scored six-straight points to secure the win, 25-19, thanks to three points from McKenna (two kills, one block) and two each from Madison and Jedrzejczak.

A 6-2 run started set three for CBU, but the Eagles scrapped back within three, 9-6. The Lancers went on a 10-3 run, thanks to six unforced errors from Biola, to grab a 19-9 lead en route to the win.

"It was definitely a challenge for us, we haven't been in a fifth set all season, but we had a practice recently to get us prepared for this situation and I think we handled it with poise like we're supposed to," Smith said. "It was a tough one, they're a great team and we battled."