Lancers Rebound for Sixth Win

Friday, August 31

Fresno, Calif.

12:30 PM

California Baptist University

5-1

Saint Mary's

3-2

Cal Baptist

Saint Mary's

Photo by: Andrew Shortall

Lancers Rebound for Sixth Win

8/31/2018 9:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

FRESNO, Calif. – Coach Branden Higa purposefully scheduled the Fresno State Invitational to challenge California Baptist University in week two of the season.

The Lancers certainly got that and ended the weekend with a split of two four-set matches after a win over San Francisco and a loss to Saint Mary's at Fresno State's Save Mart Center on Friday. CBU moves to 6-1 on the year, while the Gaels improve to 3-2 and the Dons drop to 2-3.

"This is right where we needed to be, we needed to play good teams that could test us," Higa said. "That's what we were looking for in weekend two, because we need to be able to have opponents that can show us where we need to get better. You find that in tough and tight matches, like we had this weekend."

Next, the Lancers will take part in Air Force's Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic. They will face Presbyterian and Air Force next Friday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, and then Valparaiso at 2 p.m. before making their home opener. CBU will first appear in the Van Dyne Gym against La Sierra on Tuesday, Sept. 11, with a 5 p.m. first serve.

CBU battled but fell to Saint Mary's – which upset 19^th-ranked Utah last week – in four sets (25-19, 25-22, 19-25, 25-23) and then rebounded about an hour and a half later for a four-set win of its own against San Francisco (25-16, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20).

"It was a quick turnaround, but that was a good challenge for us and we were able to meet it," Higa said. "It was a really nice job by the team showing some mental toughness and competitiveness to play another match and execute well on zero rest."

Blocking was the key to the Lancers' victory over the Dons, as they had posted a season-high 12 and held USF to a .111 hitting percentage (46-29-153). Tesa Oaks had a double-double in the win with 16 digs and 15 kills, along with three blocks. Sydney Marks matched her with 15 kills on a .560 percentage (15-1-25), five blocks, while Nicole Abreu did so with 16 digs.

Summer Avery added 14 digs, seven kills and five blocks in the win, while Natalie Zimmerer had 43 assists, seven digs and two blocks. Yagoda Jedrzejczak chipped in eight kills at a .429 clip (8-2-14) and five blocks.

"We have been defending really, really well and the blocking showed up really well today," Higa said. "We talked about being more athletic and aggressive as blockers and that seemed to have paid off."

San Francisco took a 5-1 lead in the first set, but CBU flipped the script and took a 15-11 lead with a 9-2 run. Jedrzejczak and Avery scored three of those points with a kill and two blocks.

The Dons scored out of the media timeout, but the Lancers went on an 8-2 charge from there for a comfortable 23-14 lead en route to the win. Oaks and Marks each tallied two points in that span.

In set two, a 7-2 run highlighted by consecutive blocks from Jedrzejczak gave CBU a big 15-8 advantage. USF managed to cut the deficit down to three, 17-14, but two kills and block from Oaks helped the Lancers score five of the next six points for a comfortable 22-15 lead.

Set three saw the Dons come out determined with a 25-22 win to force an extra game. The Lancers did not let the comeback go any further and started the fourth game with a 6-3 run. Marks helped increase the lead, with consecutive block assists highlighting a 4-0 run that made it 16-10. She then went on a 3-0 by herself with three-straight kills to bring it 19-13.

San Francisco cut its deficit down to 19-16, but two kills from Jedrzejczak and Avery and one each from Megan Sester and Oaks helped the Lancers hold of the Dons and end the match on a 4-2 run for the 25-20 win.

In the loss to Saint Mary's, Abreu and Avery (eight kills) led the Lancers in digs, with 17 and 12, respectively, while Marks (12 kills on a .346 percentage); Oaks (12 kills, .312 percent) and Sester (11 kills) all finished with double-digit kills.

For the first time this season, CBU lost a first set against the Gaels. The Lancers did manage to go on a 6-0 run to make it 23-18, but Saint Mary's regrouped out of a timeout and won the game, 25-19.

The second set was tightly contested, but the Lancers worked their way to a 17-15 lead. Saint Mary's fought back and took a 21-18 lead. CBU responded to force a tie at 21 on two kills from Oaks and another from Sester. The Gaels managed to squeak out the 25-22 win after ending the set on a 4-1 run.

The Lancers got on the board with a 25-19 win in set three. They took a 15-9 lead on a 7-1 run fueled by two kills from Marks and another from Oaks. An ace from Avery kept it a six-point lead, 22-16, for CBU but the Gaels scored the next three points to force a timeout.

Marks helped the Lancers seize momentum out of the break with a kill on a 50-50 ball at the net. Dennison then aced Saint Mary's for set point, and a combo block from Zimmerer and Marks gave CBU the 25-19 win.

Down 6-1, CBU had to climb out of a bit of a hole in set four. A 12-7 run sparked by three points each from Oaks and Sester (two kills, solo block) brought the Lancers back to a 13-13 tie. It was back and forth from there, with ties at 16, 17, 18 and 20.

Consecutive kills from Oaks and Sester made it 20-20 but the Gaels responded by scoring three of the next four points. Jedrzejczak delayed match point with a kill and team block with Oaks, but Saint Mary's picked up the victory on a net violation.