CBU Splits Day One at Air Force

Friday, September 7

USAF Academy, Colo.

6:00 PM

California Baptist University

7-2

Air Force

7-3

Cal Baptist

Air Force

Photo by: Andrew Shortall

CBU Splits Day One at Air Force

9/7/2018 8:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Shortall, Asst. Sports Information Director

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – For the third week in a row, California Baptist University took its show on the road and continued to win at an impressive rate at Air Force's Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic.

Friday started with the Lancers defeating Presbyterian in four sets (25-17, 25-9, 21-25, 25-23) but then dropped a tight four-set match to host Air Force (17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20). The Lancers play their final match of the week against Valparaiso on Saturday at the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic.

CBU moves to 7-2 this season, while the Falcons are 7-3 and Presbyterian drops to 1-6. The Lancers will make their home opener against La Sierra on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Van Dyne Gym.

For the first time this season, four Lancers logged double-digit kills in a match when they defeated Presbyterian to start the day. Defense was crucial to the win, as well, with CBU holding the Blue Hose to a .119 hitting percentage (39-23-135), with a 63-51 advantage in digs and 9-5 edge in blocks.

Summer Avery did a bit of everything for CBU in the win, with 15 digs, 11 kills and four blocks. Natalie Zimmerer did a great job spreading around the offense, and joined Avery with a double-double on 42 assists, 10 digs, three kills, two aces and a block.

Megan Sester led the offense with 14 kills on a .367 percentage (14-3-30), while Tesa Oaks added 13 kills, eight digs and four aces and Sydney Marks chipped in 10 kills (.350 percent) and three blocks. Nicole Abreu, the reigning Western Athletic Conference Defender of the Week, held down the back line with a match-high 17 digs.

CBU worked its way to an 11-9 lead to start its match with Presbyterian. The Lancers increased their advantage to 19-10 with an 8-1 run sparked by three points from Oaks (two kills, one ace). Two kills each from Avery and Zimmerer helped CBU close out the first-set win, 25-17.

Set two was a dominant display of the Lancers' nearly unstoppable offense. CBU hit .560 in the set, with 15 kills and just one error on 25 attacks. Avery (5-1-7) and Sester (5-0-9) both led the way with five kills each, while Oaks had four kills on as many attempts in the set, which included five digs from Abreu.

The game began on a 10-3 CBU run, thanks to seven kills spread out between Marks, Avery, Sester and Oaks. Aces from Zimmerer and Katelyn Vander Tuig and four points from Avery (three kills, one block) fueled a 9-1 Lancer run that increased the lead to 21-7.

Presbyterian fought back with a set-three win, 25-21, and then threatened to send it to a fifth with a 17-15 lead in the fourth. A Yagoda Jedrzjeczak kill and attack error from the Blue Hose tied the score at 17, and the Lancers jumped in front, 20-19, on another Jedrzejczak spike and two team blocks from Avery.

The Blue Hose called timeout, regrouped and took a 21-20 lead, but Marks answered right back with a kill to tie things at 21. Presbyterian appeared to take another lead on a kill, but Higa challenged the call that the ball was tipped by CBU's blockers at the net. The Lancers won the challenge, so the call was overturned to a hitting error and gave CBU a 22-21 edge.

Marks and Sester built on the momentum with a combo block at the end to make it 23-21 Lancers. A Marks kill gave CBU match point, and Oaks delivered it to avoid an overtime set when she tooled Presbyterian's block for a big kill.

Things were back and forth early in the match with Air Force. An 8-2 run highlighted by two kills from Avery, Marks and a kill and block from Oaks helped CBU take a 16-12 lead. The Falcons would not score consecutive points the rest of the way, as the Lancers ended the set on a 6-2 run for the 25-17 win.

Air Force came out and grabbed an 18-11 lead in set two. The Lancers fought to cut their deficit all the way down to three, 20-17. The Falcons called timeout and managed to hold off the rally from CBU for the 25-22 win.

A very important set three was the closest one yet, with the score level at 14-14. A 6-2 run put Air Force in front 20-16, and the Lancers were unable to pull closer than two points as the Falcons won it, 25-20.

The Falcons broke an 8-8 tie and took a 15-9 lead into the media timeout of set four. CBU clawed its way back into it and prompted an Air Force timeout with a 7-4 run that brought its deficit down to 19-16. A kill from Oaks and attack error from the home team made it a two-point game, 20-18, but the Falcons scored the next three points to set themselves up for the 25-20 win.

Oaks finished with a double-double on 16 digs and 11 kills in the match, while Marks added 11 kills, three blocks and three digs. Abreu chipped in 15 digs and Zimmerer wound up with 40 assists and nine digs.