California Baptist University
Utah Tech
VB Preview: CBU Opens Conference Play with Utah Road Trip
9/18/2023 1:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University women's volleyball team will open conference play this week with a road trip to Utah to face the Utah Tech Trailblazers and Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
The Lancers enter into Western Athletic Conference play with a 7-4 record and are currently on a five-game winning streak. The streak includes home wins over Nevada and Oregon State, road wins at UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton, and a neutral site win over UC Irvine.
The first match of the trip will be against the Trailblazers in St. George, Utah, who currently hold a 4-6 record. The Trailblazers and Lancers will meet for the 21st time in program history in a series that dates back to 2006. CBU currently holds the series edge 13-7, with the Lancers sweeping Utah Tech last season at Burns Arena.
The final matchup of the weekend will be against Southern Utah University on Saturday in Cedar City, Utah. The Thunderbirds also have a 4-6 record and are coming off a sweep of Idaho at home. The Lancers and Thunderbirds have met four previous times, with CBU holding a 3-1 series lead. In the latest meeting between the two programs, Southern Utah edged CBU in a five-set match in Cedar City.
The Lancers will head into the matchups with their best start to a season since 2018 when they started 8-3 and finished the season 21-11. The road has been a second home for CBU to begin 2023, with nine of their eleven non-conference matchups taking place away from the confines of Van Dyne Gym. The Lancers will try to improve upon their conference road record from a season ago, which saw them come out with only two wins.
Statistically, the Lancers are led by their two outside hitters, Michalina Rola and Catherine Krieger, who have started strong. Rola leads the team with 148 kills and is second in digs with 118. Krieger is right behind Rola at 135 kills to pair with 90 digs on the season.
Setter Leah Pease, who has started all 11 matches thus far, leads the team with 270 assists and reached a significant milestone in the win over Nevada. Pease recorded her 1,500th career assist at CBU and is well on her way to 2,000 career assists. Both marks are top-10 in program history.
On the defensive side, Mia Jerue, who is usually an outside hitter but has since stepped up at libero for the Lancers, is the team leader in digs and aces. Jerue, the reigning WAC Libero of the Week, has 185 digs and 16 aces. Jerue has twice recorded matches with six aces this season, tying the DI program record in that category.
MATCH INFORMATION:
Opponents: Utah Tech & Southern Utah
Date and Times: Thursday, September 21 @ 6 p.m. PT. and Saturday, September 23 @ 11 a.m. PT
Location: St. George, UT & Cedar City, UT
Watch: ESPN+- @ Utah Tech and @Southern Utah
