California Baptist University
4-6,0-0WAC
#20 Utah
7-2,0-0Big 12
CBU Makes a Little History in close loss to #20 Utah
9/18/2025 4:04:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA--- The California Baptist University volleyball team put up a fight on Thursday afternoon as they battled the #20 Utah Utes on opening day of the SLO Classic in San Luis Obispo. The matchup was just the second in time in which the Lancers have faced a ranked opponent in the DI era.
The Lancers made a little history in the match, but ultimately, the ranked Utes pulled out the victory in four sets. The loss drops CBU to 4-6 on the season as the ranked Utes move to 7-2.
The Lancers started strong against the ranked Utes, maintaining a lead throughout the majority of the first frame. A timely Gianna Perez service ace brought the lead to 19-16 in favor of CBU, forcing Utah to call its first timeout to regroup. The Utes would score the next two points to force Trevor Johnson to huddle up his squad. CBU scored six of the final eight points out of the timeout, capped off by an Eliana Posada block to win the set 25-20. The set win was the first over a ranked opponent in program history for the Lancers and was just the second set the Utes have dropped to a non-ranked squad this season.
The Lancers impressed again in the second set as they kept tight with the Utes throughout the entirety of the period. Utah made the first big run of the set, leading 17-12 to force the Lancers to burn their final timeout. CBU registered points on four of the next five possessions to put Utah on its heels. The Utes would get to set point at 24-23 before an error would force the frame into extra points. The Lancers got to set point three different times in the frame, but could not put away Utah, who continued to attack with veracity. The Utes would score the final three points of the frame to win the set 29-27 and tie the match at one apiece.
The third set saw the Utes build a sizable lead early and finish the job with a 25-15 victory to take the match lead 2-1 over the Lancers. The final set played out mostly like the third set as the Utes flexed its offensive firepower and would take the set 25-16 and the match 3-1 over CBU.
Posada continued her incredible streak of play, leading the Lancers with 14 kills on a .571 hitting percentage, the best mark of her career and the best of the DI era for the Lancers (minimum 12 kills). Emery DeJong put together another double-double performance with 11 kills and 11 digs. Setter Maddie Brown had an all-around solid game with 28 assists, two kills, eight digs, and a block.
NEXT: The Lancers will continue on at the SLO Classic tomorrow afternoon against Saint Mary's at 1:30 PM.
