EAGLE ROCK, Calif., - After the initial shock of facing a raucous crowd and dropping the first set, the Cal Lutheran Volleyball team settled in and swept the next three sets to down conference-rival Occidental Saturday night 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-13). With the win, the Regals improve to 11-3 and 3-0 in the SCIAC.
Behind a crowd of nearly 800, Occidental fought the Regals tough in the beginning frame, capitalizing on several CLU hitting errors to win the first set 25-19.
"Give Oxy credit in that first set. They got the crowd behind them and I think we were a little shell-shocked at first and they made it count," Coach Kellee Roesel said.
However, thanks to a career-day from Lauren Rohach and some defensive adjustments, CLU was able to regroup and play standout volleyball the rest of the way. "I'm so proud of our kids tonight for the way they handled themselves after the first set and regrouped." Roesel continued, "We knew we had a match-up advantage with our middles and both Rohach and Shannon Pearson played great and helped us to the win," Roesel said.
"And what can I say about Lauren Rohach. Lauren has played a different position each year she's been here and for her to finally come into her own over the last few weeks, it has been something special to watch as a coach and I'm so proud of her."
Rohach finished with a career-high in kills with 19 while recording a .581 hitting percentage. She also recorded three block assists. Pearson finished with 10 kills.
In addition to Rohach and Pearson's standout performances, the CLU coaching staff also altered their defensive strategy by shuffling around their libero and outside hitters.
"Coach (Tara) Thomas recommended that we switch Rachel Smith from libero to middle back and move our outside hitters to left back. And that made all the difference," the seventh-year coach said.
After allowing Oxy to hit .333 in the first set, the CLU defense responded to the adjustment and limited the Tigers attack to a .277 clip in the second set, a remarkable .000 in the third, and just a .083 in the fourth set.
Leading the way defensively was R. Smith with 16 digs. "Rachel can play any position on the court and she is such sure defender and passer. She's just a gamer," Coach Roesel said.
A night after recording her first collegiate double-double, Allie Eason had her second in as many days, finishing with 13 kills and 15 digs. Kylie McLogan recorded a double-double as well tallying 13 kills and 11 digs.
Coach Roesel also noted how impressed she has been by the versatility shown by setter Jena Chavez, "Jena has stepped in and played and acted like a senior. She can serve, play defense and run our offense. She has just been really impressive so far and I could not be happier for her."
Chavez finished with 40 assists and 11 digs on the night.
The Regals return home for a three-game homestand starting this Wednesday when Claremont-Mudd-Scripps comes to Gilbert Arena at 7:30 pm. CLU then is set to host a double-header Saturday against Chapman at 1:00 p.m. and then against Redlands at 7:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 3 Occidental 1
