California Baptist University
4-21,4-9WAC
Seattle University
6-17,4-9WAC
CBU Falls in Five Sets in Final WAC Road Trip
11/7/2024 8:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SEATTLE, WA--- The California Baptist University volleyball team wrapped up its conference road schedule with a high-flying five-set defeat at the hands of the Seattle U Redhawks on Thursday night.
The five-set contest marked the fifth time in conference play the Lancers have gone the distance and the sixth time overall this season. CBU's record drops to 4-9 in conference play, and Seattle improves to the same record with the win. The Lancers are still in prime position to clinch a berth in the Western Athletic Conference tournament as they sit two games ahead of the cutoff.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Lancers and Redhawks went back and forth in the opening frame, with neither team able to string together much of a service run on the other. The back-and-forth affair finally ended when CBU went on a 5-0 run to take a 23-19 lead and forced the Redhawks to burn both timeouts. Madison Gilliland would finish the set with a thunderous kill off a perfectly placed pass by Reese Reed to take set one 25-21.
Seattle U punched back in the second set, starting out with an early 10-6 lead to force Branden Higa to exhaust his first timeout. The Lancers would battle back to tie the set at 13 apiece, but Seattle U would fire off a 4-0 run to regain control. The home squad would finish the frame on a 7-2 run to win the period 25-18 to tie the match at one set apiece. The Redhawks carried their momentum over into the third set and would dominate the Lancers in the frame. The Redhawks would showcase efficient hitting and excellent blocking to register the 25-11 result and the 2-1 lead.
CBU showed no quit in the fourth set as they faced elimination. The Lancers quickly built a four-point advantage at 11-7 before the Redhawks chopped that lead down to one at 16-15. From that point, the Lancers throttled the Redhawks, scoring nine of the next 12 points and would earn the 25-18 result. Kali Wolf would ultimately send the match to a crucial fifth set with a strong swing on the left side to win the frame for the Lancers.
In the decisive fifth set, the Redhawks captured the early lead, scoring on four of the first five rallies. CBU did not panic and would chip at the deficit and eventually take the lead at 7-6 to force a Seattle U timeout. Out of the timeout, the Redhawks would be the aggressor and score five straight points to put the Lancers in a challenging position. CBU would get the deficit down to a single point at 14-13, but the damage was already done, and the Redhawks would finish the deal at 15-13.
STATISTICAL NOTABLES:
Wolf and Mia Jerue were the stories of the night for CBU, combining 32 of the team's 47 kills and both doing so with efficient hitting numbers. Wolf and Jerue both had season-highs in kills, with 17 and 15, respectively. Jerue made it a double-double by posting 14 digs and chipped in a pair of blocks and aces.
Meanwhile, Amanda Darling was everywhere for the Lancers on defense and recorded a season-high 28 digs in the loss, besting her previous best by four. Reed recorded another double-double for her season totals, with a team-high 23 assists and ten digs.
NEXT: The Lancers will return to Riverside to begin a three-match homestand, starting with Utah Tech on Saturday for senior day.
