California Baptist University
3-5,0-0WAC
Portland State University
3-5,0-0Big Sky
CBU Rallies Late but Comes up Short to Vikings
9/12/2025 9:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University volleyball team dropped a Friday night thriller to Portland State on day two of The Joust as the visiting Vikings took the match in five sets.
The loss brings CBU to a 3-5 record overall while the Vikings improve to 3-5, including a perfect 2-0 record at The Joust.
The opening set was all blue and gold as the Lancers' offense was carrying momentum from its Thursday night victory over Cal State Fullerton in the home opener. The Lancers went on a 7-0 service run courtesy of Emery DeJong to take a commanding 19-10 lead over Portland State. The Vikings would battle back a little, but the Lancers would throttle ahead for the 25-15 victory and the early 1-0 match lead. CBU hit. 423 with 13 kills in the opening set, registering five aces to help secure the early lead.
Portland State flipped the script on the Lancers in the second frame with nearly flawless serving while CBU struggled in that department to help the visiting team tie the match at one apiece with a 25-17 victory. The third set was a similar script with the Vikings capitalizing on multiple Lancer service and attack errors to build an early advantage. Eliana Posada, a preseason All-WAC selection, would make her season debut in the set after a hand injury kept her out of the first seven games of the season. Posada would make an immediate impact with three kills on three attacks. Posada's presence was not enough as the Vikings would take the set 25-18 and more importantly the 2-1 lead.
The fourth set did not start well for CBU as they were staring at an early 4-0 deficit. The Lancers rallied to take the lead at 7-6, but a Portland State run would give the momentum right back to the visitors. The turning point for the Lancers would come behind a Gianna Perez service run and efficient hitting from Posada and Eleftheria Baxa. Mia Rossman would also provide a critical service run that would ultimately win the day for the Lancers to send the match into a pivotal fifth set.
In the fifth set, the Vikings went on two 4-0 runs that would put CBU behind the eight-ball early. Trevor Johnson was forced to use his timeouts and two challenges to regroup his team. The Vikings would get to set point at 14-9, but the Lancers would show incredible fight and resilience with their backs against the wall. Rossman would once again go on a crucial service run that saw the Lancers put up five straight points to send the set into extra points. Portland State drew first blood in extras, but DeJong would come right back with the answer to tie the set at 15. Portland State would score off a CBU error and then finish the match with a kill from Tyra Schaub to claim the five-set victory.
Posada showed out in her first game of the season with 11 kills on a .562 hitting percentage and chipped in three aces and six digs, all in just three sets of work. DeJong was the leader in kills for the Lancers with 14 and made it a double-double with 12 digs as well. Maddie Brown added another double-double to her season total with 44 assists and 12 digs. The 44 assists tie her career-high for the third time this season.
NEXT: The Lancers will wrap up their home tournament tomorrow afternoon against New Mexico at 1 PM.
