California Baptist University
University of Delaware
VB Preview: CBU Heads to Iowa City for the Hawkeye Invitational
9/4/2024 12:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
IOWA CITY, IA--- The California Baptist University volleyball team will embark on its second road tournament of the young season this weekend as they head to Iowa to compete in the Hawkeye Invitational.
The tournament will feature matches against Delaware, Iowa, and San Jose State that will take place from Friday, September 7- Sunday, September 9.
CBU will begin the weekend against Delaware in the program's first-ever meeting with the Blue Hens. Delaware is 1-1 heading into the matchup with a five-set loss to Michigan in the opener and a sweep of Kent State at the Michigan Nike Classic. The Blue Hens went 24-5 a season ago and won the Colonial Athletic Association Championship to make its way to the NCAA Tournament. Delaware would ultimately lose to #8 Missouri in the opening round of the National Tournament.
Next on the weekend schedule for CBU will be a date with the tournament host, Iowa. The match against Iowa will be a contest of firsts for CBU as it marks the first time CBU has matched up against Iowa and the first time they have faced any competitor from the BIG 10. The Hawkeyes have begun its season undefeated at 2-0 after defeating Liberty and Providence at the Puerto Rico Classic. CBU starting libero Amanda Darling will have a chance to face her former squad in this match after appearing in 21 matches for the Hawkeyes in 2023.
The final match of the weekend will also be a new matchup for CBU as it faces fellow California squad San Jose State. The Lancers have never played the Spartans, and they will be one of three Mountain West opponents on the schedule for CBU in 2024 (San Diego State and Nevada). The Spartans also enter the tournament unbeaten as they took down Cal State Fullerton and Louisana Tech in a combined seven sets at the Fullerton Invite.
For CBU, they enter the weekend 0-3 after competing against a slew of challenging opponents at the Lipscomb Invitational this past weekend. The Lancers faced a pair of 20-win squads from a season ago in Lipscomb and Arizona State and another tough opponent in Belmont. The match against Arizona State was CBU's first-ever contest against a ranked opponent in the DI era, with the Sun Devils being ranked #17 heading into the season.
Senior opposite hitter Eliana Posada is leading the Lancer's offensive attack to begin the season, with 33 kills on opening weekend. Posada led the team in all three of its contests, followed by teammates Kali Wolf and Nicole Mauser, who combined for 42 kills.
TOURNAMENT INFO:
Dates:
September 6 vs. Delaware at 1 PM PT
September 7 at Iowa at 4:30 PM PT
September 8 vs San Jose State at 9 AM PT
*All games will be broadcast on ESPN+
