THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The 2012 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Post Season Tournament championship match pitted No. 1 seeded Cal Lutheran against No. 2 seeded Chapman University. With a three set, 3-0, victory it was the home Regals who earned a chance to represent the league in the NCAA Division III Tournament slated to begin Friday, Nov. 9.
In a rubber match between nationally ranked No. 8 Cal Lutheran (27-4) and No. 22 Chapman (23-6), the result was reflective of the tournament seeding as the Regals paced the rhythm on the court tonight defeating the Panthers 25-18, 25-18, 25-18 to claim their second title in three years.
Led by SCIAC Freshman of the Year Allie Eason, SCIAC Athlete of the Year Kylie McLogan and senior Rachel Smith CLU swept past CU for the second time in eight days. Eason and McLogan each recorded 13 kills to share a match-high for all players and Smith tallied a match-high 18 digs to propel the Regals past Chapman.
CLU and CU battled back and forth in the initial stages of first set. CU took the lead at 8-7 after a CLU attacking error went long. Minutes later Eason pulled CLU back even after digging out a ball and finishing the play with a kill, knotting the teams at 9-9. Cal Lutheran pushed the lead to 14-11 after an Eason ace, a powerful kill by McLogan and a well-placed tip from Shannon Pearson to force Chapman to call a timeout.
After Kate Ferrin recorded a kill for Chapman, to cut the gap to three, the Regals responded with a kill from Lauren Rohach and an ace from Jena Chavez to make it 18-13.
Several points later, libero Rachel Smith made a pair of highlight-reel digs on shots from Ashleigh Gideon and Val Geiger as CLU capitalized on another tip kill from Rohach, pushing the score to 21-16.
Cal Lutheran turned on the gas down the stretch as Smith had the third ace of the set before Pearson and Pua Mo'okini-Oliveira partnered for a big combo block to get the score to 24-17. Pearson ended the first game on a kill from the middle as Cal Lutheran took the first set 25-18.
The Regals continued their hot-streak to begin the second set, racing out to a 5-1 lead, backed by two-straight kills from McLogan, forcing another CU timeout.
The Panthers would respond on the following point with a kill from Lena Buckendorf, but CLU would flex its defensive muscle with Smith and Kennedy Peters each recording two digs and McLogan blocking a Chapman attack, pushing CLU's lead to double figures at 13-3.
Geiger would find the hardwood on a kill to break the streak of eight straight points from Cal Lutheran, but McLogan got the Regals back on track with a kill and an ace in back-to-back points, giving CLU their biggest lead of the set at 16-4.
Despite being down to their last point of the game, Chapman began to build some momentum thanks to an ace and kill from Ashleigh Gideon as they won four straight points and got the score to 24-17.
A disputed call ended the second set as a Mo'okini-Oliveira kill ricocheted off the net and down for the kill, much to the chagrin of the CU faithful who thought the shot hit the antenna. Nevertheless, Cal Lutheran went up two sets to none, taking the second set again by a 25-18 margin.
Eason got Cal Lutheran off to another fast start in the third set with a kill and two of her game-high five aces as the Regals raced out to a 5-0 lead.
Chapman would show some resolve though, recording two straight kills from Geiger and Gideon, shrinking CLU's lead to 8-5.
CLU would maintain its three-point lead until Eason broke the game open with a put-back kill and another service ace. Cal Lutheran went on to win the next five points, increasing their lead to 15-8.
Chapman attacker Jenny Gibson broke up the streak with a cross-court kill and then a solo-block on the next point to get the Panthers within five at 16-11.
Led by its defense all season, the Cal Lutheran blockers proved to be too much for the Panthers down the stretch. With their lead at 23-18, Pearson stuffed a Panther attack at the net. Chapman was able to dig the ball out and get another attack off but McLogan was there this time for the solo block, getting CLU to match point. Pearson ended the set, match and tournament on a service-ace as CLU completed the day with a third consecutive 25-18 win to advance.
In addition to Eason and McLogan's offensive efforts, Pearson turned in a nine-kill performance. Chavez dished out 34 assists from her setter position.
Smith, who broke the CLU single-season record for digs on Thursday evening, was at her strongest down the stretch, racking up seven digs in the final frame. With 18 total digs in the match, Smith's season total is now up to 484.
Chapman was led offensively by Gideon, who finished with 11 kills and had a .333 attacking percentage. Geiger was second with 10 kills and Ferrin was third with eight. Panthers setter Corrine Ostrovsky finished with a game-high 35 assists. CU libero, Carleigh Mueller finished with 15 digs.
Tonight's victory also marked the 168th win of CLU head coach Kellee Roesel's career, tying her with James Park (1993-2001).
On Monday, Nov. 5 at 8:00 a.m. PST, the NCAA will be webstreaming the Division III Women's Volleyball Selection Show on NCAA.com. Regional play will take place Nov. 9-11 at a site to be announced on Monday morning as well.
Box Score: CLU 3, CU 0
