California Baptist University
Jacksonville University
The 2023 CBU Volleyball Season Commences at the Santa Clara Tournament
8/22/2023 9:49:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE--- The 2023 California Baptist University women's volleyball will begin non-conference play this week, kicking off with the Santa Clara Tournament.
The wait is over!! 🏐🔥
— cbuvolleyball (@CBU_volleyball) July 27, 2023
👉https://t.co/tNIGou9IxG#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/kMGCknnsWY
The Santa Clara Tournament will occur on August 25th and 26th at San Jose State and Mission College in Santa Clara. CBU will face three opponents they have never encountered in their program's history in Santa Clara, Jacksonville, and CSUN, with their season opener coming against the Jacksonville Dolphins.
Head Coach Branden Higa expressed his level of excitement about the new year and the competition this weekend.
"I am very, very excited about this group because we had a great spring, and we have formed a new identity. So what I am looking for this weekend is to bring that new identity to the competition court."
The 2023 schedule comprises 27 matches, 11 as non-conference and 16 as Western Athletic Conference matches. The non-conference schedule features four tournaments, and the Lancers will be on the road for nine of the eleven matches during that stretch. The home opener for CBU will take place against Nevada in the CBU-UCR tournament on Friday, September 8th, at 6 p.m.
In 2022, the Lancers finished with a 12-14 record overall and a 7-7 conference record. The finish helped them compete in their first-ever WAC Tournament, where they were defeated by eventual champions Stephen F. Austin. One of the featured matches in this year's conference schedule will be against Grand Canyon in the Dale E. & Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center on Monday, October 16th, at 7 p.m. Setter Leah Pease says the whole team has that date circled and are excited to compete in the Events Center.
"Collectively, we are all definitely most excited for the GCU match this year. The energy and atmosphere in the Events Center is unlike any other, and I cannot wait to compete and represent CBU Volleyball for the community."
The current team is comprised of 13 returners and six new athletes. The new athletes include four incoming freshmen, Maddie Brown, Nicole Mauser, Emery DeJong, and Wilsun Weir, and two transfers, Eliana Posada from Pittsburgh and Catherine Krieger from Sam Houston. Among the returners are setter Leah Pease and middle blocker Chandler Gorman, who were the team leaders in assists and blocks a season ago. Another major returner for the Lancers is outside hitter Michalina Rola who was second on the team in kills in 2022 with 178.
Pease discussed how the balanced blend of newcomers and returners has already paid dividends for the team.
"Having new blood in the gym is always so fun. As a fifth-year grad student, it is so exciting to watch the newcomers learn from the returners and also see us learn from them. The younger girls bring a great level of talent and passion for the game, and we are very excited to see their impact on the program."
The team consists of 13 upperclassmen and six underclassmen, which Coach Higa believes brings a level of maturity and purpose to the team.
"There is a calmness and a sense of purpose (to this team). We are blessed to have a lot of them, and they bring a lot of maturity to the game. They are the ones who have been building this program during the transition (to NCAA DI)) and they fully understand and have bought into the mission and the goal of this program."
The Lancers will take on Jacksonville at Mission College in Santa Clara on Friday, August 25th, at 10 a.m. PT.
