CBU's Efficient Offense Sweeps Home Opener

Tuesday, September 11

Riverside, Calif.

5:00 PM

California Baptist University

8-3

La Sierra

3-8

La Sierra

California Baptist

Photo by: Dwain Linden

CBU's Efficient Offense Sweeps Home Opener

9/11/2018 8:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – No matter who was on the court, California Baptist University just seemed to click in its home opener, resulting in a sweep over La Sierra on Tuesday.

Offensively, the Lancers hit .453 as a team and held the Golden Eagles to a .055 percentage. CBU enjoyed a 50-18 advantage in kills and 33-23 edge in digs, as they won all three sets handily (25-13, 25-15, 25-14). CBU improves to 8-3 this season, while La Sierra slips to 3-8, and will host UTEP on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Van Dyne Gym.

"It's great to be back home, the crowd was awesome, the students and the community really came out," Coach Branden Higa said. "The team has been working really hard and a lot of the team doesn't know what it's like to play here, so it was great to get them back."

Senior transfer Summer Avery echoed Higa's sentiments.

"The crowd was awesome, it was a fun experience and really exciting," she said. "We played every point like it's the most important point. We played really hard the whole time and didn't take anything for granted."

Three Lancers accumulated double-digit kills in the match. Tesa Oaks logged 10 kills on a .391 percentage (10-1-23), six digs, two blocks and an ace. True freshman Megan Sester notched 10 kills on a .412 clip (10-3-17) and Avery added 10 more kills on a .533 percentage (10-2-15) to go along with five digs and a block.

"This week at practice, we have really been emphasizing our versatility as hitters and being able to hit a bunch of different types of shots," Sester said. "We weren't trying to hit anything straight down, we tried to mix it up and be unpredictable and I think that worked for us."

CBU went deep into its bench in the win, but there was never a drop off. All nine Lancers who had a kill posted a hitting percentage of .333 or better, with Ellie Voss putting down four kills and three blocks and Sydney Marks adding eight kills at middle blocker.

Even so, La Sierra held a 7-5 lead in set one. The Lancers quickly changed that and built up a 19-9 cushion with a 14-2 run highlighted by four points from Yagoda Jedrzejczak (two blocks, two kills) and Oaks (two kills, one block, one ace). CBU did not slow down and won the first set by a 12-point margin, 25-13.

Two points from Oaks (two kills) and Voss (kill, block) helped CBU start set two on a 5-1 run. The Golden Eagles managed to slice their deficit down to 9-8, but the Lancers never gave up the lead and eventually pulled away for good with a 7-0 run that pushed their lead to 21-12. Three La Sierra attacking errors, two kills from Avery and another from Sester made up the run, which put them on track for the 25-15 win.

Natalie Zimmerer tallied 25 assists and two blocks through the first two sets before true freshman Hana Okuhara took over setting duties in the third. The Lancers' offense posted a match-high .536 hitting percentage (18-3-28) in the game.

CBU went off for eight-unanswered points to claim a 12-4 lead. Oaks logged three of those points with kills, while Sester, Marks and Okuhara had one each. La Sierra was unable to cut into the lead much, with the Lancers up 19-12 late. A 5-0 run sparked by a kill and block each from Voss and Okuhara gave CBU match point, 24-12, and Okuhara provided it with a quick kill. She finished with four kills on as many attempts and 15 assists.

"We have some depth, especially at the setter position, Natalie has been doing a great job but Katelyn Vander Tuig and Hana have been competing in practice," Higa said. "This was kind of Hana's first taste of real action, and you always wonder how new players are going to react. She did a great job and was really poised out there."