Monday, October 28
Las Cruces, N.M.
5:00 PM PST
California Baptist University
10-13,4-6WAC
2
at
3
NM State
20-3,11-0WAC
1
2
3
4
5
F
California Baptist
25
25
22
21
14
2
New Mexico St.
23
22
25
25
16
3
Photo by: Reagan Lee
Lancers Take WAC Favorite Aggies to Five Sets
10/28/2019 7:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LAS CRUCES – California Baptist University nearly handed the presumptive favorite in the Western Athletic Conference, NM State, its first league loss on the road Monday night.
The Lancers won the first two sets with impressive late runs and became the first WAC team to force a deciding fifth with NMSU. The Aggies pulled out the 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-14 victory in the Pan American Center, though, to remain undefeated in conference at 11-0 and 20-3 overall.
CBU also became the first team in the WAC to force a fifth set with the Aggies, who were ranked sixth in the last NCAA Division I West Region poll from the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Oct. 21.
It nearly ended NMSU's 12-match winning streak and threatened to give it just its second home loss of the year. The Lancers (10-13, 4-6) play their next two matches at home against Chicago State on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Kansas City on Monday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
The Aggies were the preseason favorite in the WAC after they won the conference tournament title to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 before ending the year at 24-8. NMSU has been even better in 2019.
NM State came into the match leading all of Division I with an opposing hitting percentage of .096, ranking second in blocks per set (3.07), 13th in winning percentage (86.4) and 28th in hitting percentage (.264).
CBU's offense found success against the Aggies. Megan Sester, Sydney Marks and Cassidy Dennison led the way, with at least 12 kills and hitting percentages of at least .261. Sester had a team-high 17 kills, while Marks and Dennison each had 12. Dennison collected her third double-double of the season with 12 digs, as well.
Setters Hana Okuhara (26 assists, 13 digs) and Natalie Zimmerer (28 assists, 11 digs) both had double-doubles with Dennison, while Nicole Abreu had a team-high 16 digs.
CBU used eight aces and eight blocks to turn the pressure on NMSU. Yagoda Jedrzejczak filled up the stat sheet with four aces, which matched her career high, five kills and three blocks. Ellie Voss also had eight kills and five blocks, while Christine Graf chipped in seven kills and four blocks.
NM State had won the first set in 17 of its 22 matches coming into Monday, but CBU took the opener on a 25-23 score. The Lancers hit .263 (14-4-38) and held NMSU to .206 (14-7-34). Sester had a set-high five kills, while Dennison had three kills and three digs.
CBU overcame a 21-20 deficit with a 3-0 run highlighted by a kill from Marks and ace from Zimmerer. Dennison gave the Lancers set point with her third kill of the set, and Graf provided the winner with a soft touch to avoid overtime.
It was a similar story in set two, as the Aggies jumped out to a 20-16 lead late. The Lancers fought all the way back and ended the game on a 9-2 run to take it 25-22.
Voss played a big part in the late run, with three points on a kill and two block assists. Graf also had a kill and a block, while Jedrzejczak added her third ace in that span. Marks provided the winner with her fourth kill of the night.
The Lancers won the first two sets with impressive late runs and became the first WAC team to force a deciding fifth with NMSU. The Aggies pulled out the 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 16-14 victory in the Pan American Center, though, to remain undefeated in conference at 11-0 and 20-3 overall.
CBU also became the first team in the WAC to force a fifth set with the Aggies, who were ranked sixth in the last NCAA Division I West Region poll from the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Oct. 21.
It nearly ended NMSU's 12-match winning streak and threatened to give it just its second home loss of the year. The Lancers (10-13, 4-6) play their next two matches at home against Chicago State on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Kansas City on Monday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
The Aggies were the preseason favorite in the WAC after they won the conference tournament title to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 before ending the year at 24-8. NMSU has been even better in 2019.
NM State came into the match leading all of Division I with an opposing hitting percentage of .096, ranking second in blocks per set (3.07), 13th in winning percentage (86.4) and 28th in hitting percentage (.264).
Cassidy Dennison adds to her double-double (12 kills and 12 digs) with this spike.#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/4Vk8bReKpe
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 29, 2019
CBU's offense found success against the Aggies. Megan Sester, Sydney Marks and Cassidy Dennison led the way, with at least 12 kills and hitting percentages of at least .261. Sester had a team-high 17 kills, while Marks and Dennison each had 12. Dennison collected her third double-double of the season with 12 digs, as well.
🔨
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 29, 2019
Megan Sester DESTROYS this poor 🏐 for her team-high 12th kill.#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/4Ia8wBvHxz
Setters Hana Okuhara (26 assists, 13 digs) and Natalie Zimmerer (28 assists, 11 digs) both had double-doubles with Dennison, while Nicole Abreu had a team-high 16 digs.
CBU used eight aces and eight blocks to turn the pressure on NMSU. Yagoda Jedrzejczak filled up the stat sheet with four aces, which matched her career high, five kills and three blocks. Ellie Voss also had eight kills and five blocks, while Christine Graf chipped in seven kills and four blocks.
Yagoda Jedrzejczak is on 🔥! A kill and ace back-to-back from the middle blocker keeps CBU hot in set three!#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/x9NJp02nYR
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 29, 2019
NM State had won the first set in 17 of its 22 matches coming into Monday, but CBU took the opener on a 25-23 score. The Lancers hit .263 (14-4-38) and held NMSU to .206 (14-7-34). Sester had a set-high five kills, while Dennison had three kills and three digs.
CBU overcame a 21-20 deficit with a 3-0 run highlighted by a kill from Marks and ace from Zimmerer. Dennison gave the Lancers set point with her third kill of the set, and Graf provided the winner with a soft touch to avoid overtime.
🚨 WIN 🚨
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 29, 2019
Christine Graf ends set one with a soft touch, as the Lancers take the opener 25-23 after hitting .263. #LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/25HYedNIzM
It was a similar story in set two, as the Aggies jumped out to a 20-16 lead late. The Lancers fought all the way back and ended the game on a 9-2 run to take it 25-22.
Voss played a big part in the late run, with three points on a kill and two block assists. Graf also had a kill and a block, while Jedrzejczak added her third ace in that span. Marks provided the winner with her fourth kill of the night.
🚨 WIN 🚨
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 29, 2019
CBU takes set two, 25-22, as Sydney Marks ends it with a kill! The Lancers are threatening to hand NM State its first loss of the @WACsports
season. #LanceUp⚔ | @NCAAVolleyball pic.twitter.com/9kSo6IYXB0
Team Stats
CBU
NMSU
Kills
60
71
Errors
25
28
Attempts
170
171
Hitting %
.206
.251
Points
76
91
Assists
57
68
Aces
8
7
Blocks
8
13
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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