California Baptist University
10-9,3-5WAC
Grand Canyon University
14-5,7-1WAC
The Lancers Battle the Lopes in the Annual Events Center Match
10/16/2023 10:03:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University volleyball team returned to Riverside following a three-game road trip in Texas to face the Grand Canyon Lopes in the Dale E. & Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center. The second-seeded Lopes knocked off the Lancers in three sets to move them one game closer to top-seeded Stephen F. Austin.
CBU, meanwhile, drops to 10-9 overall and 3-5 in conference play with the loss, while GCU moves to 7-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Lopes and Lancers engaged in a seesaw affair early as the scoring fluctuated back and forth on both sides. The Lopes utilized an 8-1 run to gain control of the set and ultimately put CBU away by a score of 25-18.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with the opening portion of the set being a back-and-forth struggle. As they did in the opening set, the Lopes rattled off some quick offense and finished off the Lancers in set 25-19. A bright spot in the set was the play of libero Brianna Young, who jumpstarted the crowd with a pair of diving digs that led to a thunderous kill by Michalina Rola.
The teams saved their best set for last as they would combine for 62 points in the overtime set. CBU led for most of the frame, which was kickstarted by an early 8-2 run. The Lopes battled back and evened the score at 20 before taking a brief lead. CBU would stave off elimination via a pair of points by Mia Jerue off an ace and kill. The overtime period saw both teams face elimination on multiple occasions, but in the end, the Lopes converted a kill and a block into points to take the set and the match.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Nicole Mauser and Laura Walewska led the offensive attack, both hitting over .500 and combining for 13 kills. Catherine Krieger led the team in kills with nine, while Leah Pease added 21 more assists to her total.
The Lancers registered 40 kills as a team but sabotaged themselves with 31 total errors, including 21 attack errors. CBU once again won the service battle with eight aces and kept their errors low with only four compared to the Lopes's eight.
NEXT: The Lancers will quickly gather themselves and head to Seattle to face the Redhawks on Wednesday, October 18 at 6 p.m.
