California Baptist University
12-9,5-5WAC
Utah Valley University
7-14,4-6WAC
The Lancers Get Career Performances from Rola and Brown to Defeat the Wolverines in Four Sets
10/21/2023 3:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University women's volleyball team picked up a critical conference victory as they defeated the Utah Valley Wolverines in four sets.
The win moves the Lancers back to .500 at 5-5 in the Western Athletic Conference standings and breaks the tie with the Wolverines, who now drop to 4-5. The win for the Lancers brings them to 12 wins for the season, equaling their total from 2022.
The Lancers now have picked up wins in back-to-back matches after a five-game slide to being the month of October. The momentum from the wins is crucial for the Lancers, according to Head Coach Branden Higa.
"To be able to perform at the end of a brutal stretch with four matches in seven days is a testament to our team's tenacity, ability to adjust, and their commitment to each other. These past two matches, we have been able to work our way into playing some good volleyball, and it is certainly something that we will focus on leading into next week."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Lancers and Wolverines went to work quickly, both rattling off offensive spurts to keep the set tight. A crucial 3-0 run by the Wolverines in the middle of the period proved to be the difference as the Lancers would succumb 25-20 at the hand of Utah Valley.
CBU would come out of the gates swinging in the second set, holding an early 9-2 advantage and forcing an early UVU timeout. Three of the first nine Lancer points came from aces, two by Mia Jerue and one by Maddie Brown. The Wolverines never came to within six from that point as their offense stagnated and was flushed with lackadaisical errors. CBU would tie the match at one with the 25-17 victory.
The third set was tight, with neither team able to extend a lead above three points. After falling behind 15-17, the Lancers rallied off six-straight kills, four of which came via Catherine Krieger, to open up the 22-18 lead and force UVU to take both of its timeouts. CBU would finish off the Wolverines 25-21 to take the 2-1 lead in the match.
Utah Valley opened the fourth set strong with gritty offense and pushed their lead to 16-12. The Lancers responded in haste with a 4-0 run to tie the match. The Lancers and Wolverines would go back and forth until a 3-0 CBU run sealed the deal and brought home the win for the home team. The final kill was secured by Michalina Rola, who led the match in kills with 18.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
The CBU stellar outside hitters of Rola and Krieger combined for 28 kills in the match, with Rola adding nine digs and three aces to her totals. CBU once again illustrated their offensive balance, with six registering four kills or more and three of them hitting over. 300. Rola's 18 kills ties a season and career high for the senior outside hitter.
Chandler Gorman and Laura Walewska continue a strong stretch, combining for 12 kills and nine blocks in the match. Gorman led the Lancers in hitting percentage at .667, while Walewska registered seven total blocks. Gorman tied a season-high for the second straight match with eight kills against the Wolverines.
Without starting setter Leah Pease in the lineup, the combination of Reese Reed and Maddie Brown showed out in a big way. They both registered double-doubles and combined for 45 assists and 24 digs. Brown recorded new career-highs in assists and digs for the match and had a kill for the fifth time this season.
"Both Maddie and I made smart choices as to who we were setting today and when we were setting them, utilizing all of our options. The blockers for UVU were much bigger than us, but it didn't matter when our hitters had space to score in a variety of ways," said Reed about her and Brown's career performances.
Next: The Lancers continue their three-game homestand with Southern Utah headed to Riverside to face CBU on Thursday, October 26 at 7 p.m. PT.
