Thursday, October 28
Riverside, Calif.
7 PM
California Baptist University
vs
NM State
Photo by: Zac Zeman zaczeman.com
VB Preview: CBU Readies for First-Place Clash with NM State, Grand Canyon in Final Two Home Matches
10/27/2021 9:51:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE – California Baptist University volleyball rode a four-match winning streak into a first-place tie in the Western Athletic Conference West Division standings.
Sole possession of the top spot in the West is up for grabs this week, as the Lancers are scheduled to host NM State and Grand Canyon – the two other teams tied for first with identical 6-3 conference records. Both matches are all CBU's final two home matches in the regular season, with Senior Day scheduled for Saturday against the Lopes.
A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS
CBU, NM State and Grand Canyon come into this week in a three-way tie for first place in the WAC West Division. The Lopes own the tiebreaker in both situations after taking both matches against the Lancers and Aggies, but there are still five more conference matches left for all three teams. There isn't much separation between the rest of the teams, with Chicago State (5-3) in fourth, Utah Valley in fifth (5-4), Dixie State in sixth (4-5) and Seattle U rounding out the (1-8) the seven-team division.
IN THE BALANCE
Depth and balance have been the name of the game for CBU this season. Nine different players have started at least five matches this season. Offensively, the Lancers have four players averaging 2.36 kills a set or more: Tesa Oaks (2.91), Christine Graf (2.85), Scherine Dahoue (2.51) and Anouk van Noord (2.36). It's just the second time in the last 15 years the Lancers can say that. Leah Pease and Hana Okuhara split time at setter, while four different middle blockers: Chandler Gorman, Laura Walewska, Ashlyn Nevrla, and Logan Manley, have started at least five matches.
SENIOR DAY
Saturday is Senior Day for CBU's Tesa Oaks, Hana Okuhara, Anouk van Noord and Sydney Marks. The group has helped the Lancers to an 83-44 record, two postseason appearances and a conference championship, as Marks and Oaks were members of the historic 2017 team that won the PacWest, went an undefeated 27-0 in the regular season and hosted the West Regional during the team's final NCAA Division II season.
A senior transfer from UMBC, van Noord has made an immediate impact for CBU and is averaging 2.36 kills per set this season. The opposite hitter put together one of the best attacking performances in program history when she posted 10 kills on a .909 hitting percentage in a three-set win over Seattle U earlier this month. It's the second-best hitting percentage in CBU's single-match history and an NCAA-era record for the Lancers.
Okuhara is a four-year player who's been key to the Lancers' 6-2 offense. The setter has logged 992 assists, 402 digs and 41 aces in her career. In CBU's NCAA era, the two-time WAC All-Academic honoree ranks fifth in career assists and sixth with 4.82 assists per set.
Marks eclipsed more than 1,000 points in her CBU career. The four-year Lancer spent her first two seasons at middle blocker before moving to opposite hitter. She ranks third in the Lancers' NCAA era with 1,071 points, fourth with 404 sets played and 920 kills, fifth with 264 career blocks and sixth with a .268 hitting percentage. She was voted to the 2020 WAC All-Preseason Team and earned PacWest Freshman of the Year and all-conference third-team honors in 2017. She also received five all-academic awards in her career.
Oaks became the first and is still the only player in program history to earn All-WAC First Team honors back in 2018 and is a three-time conference all-academic selection. She's amassed 695 kills, 469 digs, 76 blocks and 51 aces over 68 matches and 231 sets. The outside hitter ranks top five in the program's NCAA era in total points, points per set, kills, kills per set and attacks. She's had three matches with 22 kills or more, which are all top-10 marks in the Lancers' NCAA era, as well.
GRAND CANYON AT A GLANCE
GCU is 14-4 overall and 6-3 in WAC play riding a three-match winning streak. The Lopes have been strongest at the service line, as they're averaging 1.7 aces a set, which appears to have helped them hold their opponents to a .160 hitting percentage.
McKenzie Wise is GCU's go-to hitter as she averages 3.65 kills a set, while Annabelle Kubinski ranks second on the team with 147 kills on a team-high .345 percentage. Reigning WAC Setter of the Year Klaire Mitchell ranks second in the WAC when in assists per set (10.26).
Senior libero Teagan DeFalco is averaging an astonishing 5.21 digs a set and has a .977 reception percentage. She also leads the attack at the service line with 26 aces for a 0.39 per set average. Hannah Eskes is the team's top blocker with 54 overall and 0.98 a set on the year.
NM STATE AT A GLANCE
The Aggies are 15-6 overall this year and 6-3 in conference play. NM State has been efficient on offense, with a .249 hitting percentage, and averages a dig a and a half more a set than its opponents with 15.8 to 14.3.
Shaney Lipscomb and Katie Birtcil are leading the offense, as each member of the duo averages at least 2.89 kills a set on a hitting percentage of .278 or better. Carly Aigner-Swesey (7.80) and Alana Embry (3.88) split time at setter.
Darian Markham averages a team-high 4.40 digs a set, while Lia Mosher leads the team in blocks (62, 0.77). Aigner-Swesey leads the Aggies' servers with 21 aces (0.26) on the year.
MATCH INFORMATION
Opponent: NM State & Grand Canyon
Dates: October 28 & 30
Times: 7 p.m. & 1 p.m.
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Van Dyne Gym)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast: NM State | Grand Canyon
Video: ESPN+ & WAC Digital Network (international viewers only): NM State | Grand Canyon
Sole possession of the top spot in the West is up for grabs this week, as the Lancers are scheduled to host NM State and Grand Canyon – the two other teams tied for first with identical 6-3 conference records. Both matches are all CBU's final two home matches in the regular season, with Senior Day scheduled for Saturday against the Lopes.
A LOOK AT THE STANDINGS
CBU, NM State and Grand Canyon come into this week in a three-way tie for first place in the WAC West Division. The Lopes own the tiebreaker in both situations after taking both matches against the Lancers and Aggies, but there are still five more conference matches left for all three teams. There isn't much separation between the rest of the teams, with Chicago State (5-3) in fourth, Utah Valley in fifth (5-4), Dixie State in sixth (4-5) and Seattle U rounding out the (1-8) the seven-team division.
IN THE BALANCE
Depth and balance have been the name of the game for CBU this season. Nine different players have started at least five matches this season. Offensively, the Lancers have four players averaging 2.36 kills a set or more: Tesa Oaks (2.91), Christine Graf (2.85), Scherine Dahoue (2.51) and Anouk van Noord (2.36). It's just the second time in the last 15 years the Lancers can say that. Leah Pease and Hana Okuhara split time at setter, while four different middle blockers: Chandler Gorman, Laura Walewska, Ashlyn Nevrla, and Logan Manley, have started at least five matches.
SENIOR DAY
Saturday is Senior Day for CBU's Tesa Oaks, Hana Okuhara, Anouk van Noord and Sydney Marks. The group has helped the Lancers to an 83-44 record, two postseason appearances and a conference championship, as Marks and Oaks were members of the historic 2017 team that won the PacWest, went an undefeated 27-0 in the regular season and hosted the West Regional during the team's final NCAA Division II season.
A senior transfer from UMBC, van Noord has made an immediate impact for CBU and is averaging 2.36 kills per set this season. The opposite hitter put together one of the best attacking performances in program history when she posted 10 kills on a .909 hitting percentage in a three-set win over Seattle U earlier this month. It's the second-best hitting percentage in CBU's single-match history and an NCAA-era record for the Lancers.
Okuhara is a four-year player who's been key to the Lancers' 6-2 offense. The setter has logged 992 assists, 402 digs and 41 aces in her career. In CBU's NCAA era, the two-time WAC All-Academic honoree ranks fifth in career assists and sixth with 4.82 assists per set.
Marks eclipsed more than 1,000 points in her CBU career. The four-year Lancer spent her first two seasons at middle blocker before moving to opposite hitter. She ranks third in the Lancers' NCAA era with 1,071 points, fourth with 404 sets played and 920 kills, fifth with 264 career blocks and sixth with a .268 hitting percentage. She was voted to the 2020 WAC All-Preseason Team and earned PacWest Freshman of the Year and all-conference third-team honors in 2017. She also received five all-academic awards in her career.
Oaks became the first and is still the only player in program history to earn All-WAC First Team honors back in 2018 and is a three-time conference all-academic selection. She's amassed 695 kills, 469 digs, 76 blocks and 51 aces over 68 matches and 231 sets. The outside hitter ranks top five in the program's NCAA era in total points, points per set, kills, kills per set and attacks. She's had three matches with 22 kills or more, which are all top-10 marks in the Lancers' NCAA era, as well.
GRAND CANYON AT A GLANCE
GCU is 14-4 overall and 6-3 in WAC play riding a three-match winning streak. The Lopes have been strongest at the service line, as they're averaging 1.7 aces a set, which appears to have helped them hold their opponents to a .160 hitting percentage.
McKenzie Wise is GCU's go-to hitter as she averages 3.65 kills a set, while Annabelle Kubinski ranks second on the team with 147 kills on a team-high .345 percentage. Reigning WAC Setter of the Year Klaire Mitchell ranks second in the WAC when in assists per set (10.26).
Senior libero Teagan DeFalco is averaging an astonishing 5.21 digs a set and has a .977 reception percentage. She also leads the attack at the service line with 26 aces for a 0.39 per set average. Hannah Eskes is the team's top blocker with 54 overall and 0.98 a set on the year.
NM STATE AT A GLANCE
The Aggies are 15-6 overall this year and 6-3 in conference play. NM State has been efficient on offense, with a .249 hitting percentage, and averages a dig a and a half more a set than its opponents with 15.8 to 14.3.
Shaney Lipscomb and Katie Birtcil are leading the offense, as each member of the duo averages at least 2.89 kills a set on a hitting percentage of .278 or better. Carly Aigner-Swesey (7.80) and Alana Embry (3.88) split time at setter.
Darian Markham averages a team-high 4.40 digs a set, while Lia Mosher leads the team in blocks (62, 0.77). Aigner-Swesey leads the Aggies' servers with 21 aces (0.26) on the year.
MATCH INFORMATION
Opponent: NM State & Grand Canyon
Dates: October 28 & 30
Times: 7 p.m. & 1 p.m.
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Van Dyne Gym)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast: NM State | Grand Canyon
Video: ESPN+ & WAC Digital Network (international viewers only): NM State | Grand Canyon
Players Mentioned
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