California Baptist University
14-10,7-6WAC
Abilene Christian University
11-14,6-7WAC
CBU Falls to the Wildcats Despite Career Days from Young and Rola
11/2/2023 6:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
ABILENE--- The California Baptist University volleyball team began its final Western Athletic Conference road trip with a five-set road defeat at the hands of the Abilene Christian Wildcats. The loss was their second of the season to ACU after losing in five sets in Riverside in late September.
The Lancers fall to 7-6 within the WAC and 14-10 on the season, while the Wildcats improve to 6-7 as the regular season begins to come to a close.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Lancers gained the early advantage in the opening set after Mia Jerue recorded three straight aces. The three aces were part of a 7-0 run by CBU, with Jerue serving. The Lancers would steamroll ahead, holding a lead as large as eight, ultimately taking the set 25-17.
The second set once again saw ACU jump out to the early lead, with the Wildcats owning the 5-2 lead. CBU rallied and responded with an 8-2 run of their own, led by Catherine Krieger and Michalina Rola, who registered multiple kills in the stretch. The Wildcats pushed back at the Lancers and brought the score to 22-21 in favor of CBU; however, the visiting team would capitalize off three Wildcats errors to take the set 25-22.
The Wildcats came out with pep in their step in the third set and opened up a 14-7 lead over CBU. The Lancers, as they did in the first two sets, responded swiftly and collected five straight points to force an ACU timeout. The Wildcats regrouped and surged ahead to wrap the set in their favor 25-19 to force a fourth set.
The Wildcats doubled down on their comeback with a 25-19 win in the fourth set, capitalizing on numerous Lancer errors. The fifth set was back-and-forth, with neither team allowing the other to gain more than a two-point advantage. CBU got to match point, but the Wildcats were able to overcome the deficit and win the overtime set 16-14.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Despite the loss, Rola had a career day, setting a new career best with 21 kills and had 24 points to lead all players. Krieger and Nicole Mauser both found themselves in double-digits in the kills department with 14 and 11, respectively.
Brianna Young was the story of the game for the Lancers with a monster 34-dig performance. The 34 digs were not only a career-high for Young but the best in the NCAA era for CBU and the third-highest total in a single match in the program's history. Young was all over the court and registered five assists to go along with her impressive defensive efforts.
Jerue stuffed the stat sheet with four aces, four assists, two kills, and seven digs. Jerue continues to increase her conference lead in aces, upping her total to 44 on the season.
NEXT: The Lancers will head to Stephenville, Texas, to take on Tarleton on Saturday, November 4 at 11 a.m. PT.
