California Baptist University
6-21,6-9WAC
Grand Canyon University
18-9,11-4WAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon | 19 | 20 | 25 | 17 | 1 |
| California Baptist | 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 3 |
CBU Upsets Grand Canyon in Monday Night Thriller
11/11/2024 10:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University volleyball team bested the Lopes in a four-set thriller on Monday night, halting Grand Canyon's five-match winning streak.
The win puts CBU one step closer to jumping into the fifth seed, as they are now within a half-game of Southern Utah. CBU is 6-9 in conference play and has now taken down the #2 and #3 seeds in consecutive matches at home. The Lancers continue to find success in Van Dyne Gym during conference play, now boasting a 5-2 record against their Western Athletic Conference foes.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Grand Canyon Lopes took the early advantage in the first set, building themselves an 8-3 lead that forced Branden Higa to burn a timeout. Out of the timeout, CBU snapped out of the early funk and ran off eight straight points and 11 of the next 14 points to take a four-point lead. The scoring run would be the difference in the set as the Lancers would not relinquish the lead back and proceeded to close out the Lopes 25-19 for the 1-0 lead.
The second had a similar feel as the first, with GCU taking the early lead and the Lancers battling back on the heels of a large run. This time, CBU used a 7-1 run to wrestle the lead away from Grand Canyon at 14-11 in favor of the home team. GCU kept it close until the Lancers scored on four of the final five rallies to close the deal in the frame and take a commanding 2-0 lead. Kali Wolf came up clutch on the final two rallies, recording kills on both off an assist from Reese Reed.
The Lopes did not go away quietly and avoided the sweep with a victory in the third set. GCU led by as many as six points in the frame before CBU mounted a comeback. The Lancers would get within striking distance on several occasions in the back half of the period, but the Lopes would hang on for the 25-22 victory to force a fourth set. The fourth set has been kind to CBU this season, with the Lancers holding a 7-4 record in that frame. This time around was no different, as CBU would dominate the Lopes in the set to take the match. The Lancers jumped on GCU from the opening serve, holding a lead as large as nine. The Lopes would make things interesting down the stretch by slicing the deficit to five, but that would be a short-lived feeling for the visitors. CBU would score five of the final seven points to close the deal at 25-17.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
There were a lot of solid performances in the victory for CBU, led by Kali Wolf and Mia Jerue, who dominated the outsides for the Lancers. Jerue and Wolf had 35 combined kills and chipped in heavily on the defensive end as well, with 19 total digs. Amanda Darling was up to her usual magic, with 21 digs and six assists on the night. For Darling, it was her seventh 20+ dig performance this season and the fourth time she has done it in four sets or fewer.
Reed continued her incredible stretch of play with 29 more assists tonight and was solid in the service game to boot, with three aces. As a unit, the Lancers tied a season-high in kills with 63 and had their second-best hitting percentage of the season at .347.
NEXT: The Lancers will wrap up conference play with a home game against the Abilene Christian Wildcats on Saturday, November 16, at 3 PM.
