California Baptist University
14-14,7-9WAC
Grand Canyon University
21-7,13-3WAC
The Lancers 2023 Season Ends in the WAC Quarterfinals
11/16/2023 10:38:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
OREM--- The California Baptist University volleyball team battled the Grand Canyon Lopes in the opening round of the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Tournament. The second-seeded Lopes took the match in three sets in the opening match up of the WAC Quarterfinals.
CBU entered the contest as the seventh seed, and their season will end at an even 14-14. The Lopes will move on to face the winner of UTRGV and Tarleton.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Grand Canyon jumped out to an early advantage, holding a 5-1 lead over CBU to begin the match. The Lancers pressed back and chipped away at the lead, eventually getting it to a 14-16 ball game. The Lopes found their rhythm and outscored the Lancers 9-3 over the final stretch to take the opening set 25-17.
The second set held the same as the Lopes jumping out early on CBU to take advantage. The Lancers would again battle behind a terrific set from Catherine Krieger. Krieger's six kills in the set kept CBU in the match until a 7-0 GCU run ended things and gave them the 2-0 lead.
The Lopes led by as many as eight in what proved to be the final frame of the morning. CBU did execute a 7-0 run to get the score to 23-21, but the Lopes would hang on and finish the match in three sets with a 25-22 victory.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Krieger showed out in her final collegiate match, hitting .600% for the game and led the Lancers with nine kills off the bench. Nicole Mauser, the recently named WAC Freshman of the Year, came in behind her with eight kills, hitting just under .400.
Reese Reed and Maddie Brown each registered double-digit assists, with 16 and 15, respectively.
SEASON IN REVIEW:
The Lancers season will end in the opening round of the WAC tournament for the second straight season after falling last year to eventual champion SFA in Edinburg. There was plenty to build on for the Lancers this season as they put together one of their best non-conference finish of the DI era with a 7-4 record.
CBU also put together their longest winning streak of the DI era, with eight straight wins in the month of September. Wins over Oregon State, Nevada, UC Irvine, and Tarleton helped CBU get off to a hot start. The Lancers reached two significant milestones on the streak: Head Coach Branden Higa reached his 200th career win, and setter Leah Pease reached her 1,500th assist.
The Lancers pulled out sweeps over Utah Tech and Seattle U on the road in conference play, swept the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at home, and finished 7-9 in WAC play. CBU was awarded with a pair of players on the All-WAC teams in the form of Michalina Rola and Nicole Mauser, who both made the Second Team. Mauser was also named the WAC Freshman of the Year after finishing second among freshmen in kills and led all freshmen in total points.
Nicole registered 217 kills, 60 blocks, and a .254 hitting percentage. Mauser is the first Lancer to win Freshman of the Year in program history and the only Lancer to win a major award since the program joined the conference in 2018.
Rola led the team in kills, attacks, kills per set, and points and was one of only two Lancers to compete in every set and start every match as an outside hitter. Rola was fifth in the WAC in kills per set, fourth in total kills, and sixth in points. Rola was also second on the team in service aces with 42, a mark that tied her for third in the WAC and helped the Lancers rank 30th in the nation in that category.
Laura Walewska, Eliana Posada, Catherine Krieger, and Chandler Gorman all joined Rola and Mauser for the Lancers with triple-digit kills. Krieger, a grad transfer from Sam Houston, finished second on the team with 278 kills while playing in every match in her final collegiate season. Leah Pease led the team in assists with 467 despite missing the final eight games due to a foot injury. Pease finished her collegiate career as seventh all-time in program assists and second in the DI era.
Defensively, Brianna Young starred for CBU after missing the beginning portion of 2023 with an injury. Young finished sixth in the conference in digs per set and set the DI program record for digs in a match with 34 on the road against ACU. The 34 digs were also the third most in program history in a single game and helped Young win Libero of the Week for the first time in her young career.
