WHITTIER, Calif. - The No. 5 Cal Lutheran volleyball team improved to 7-1 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) openers under head coach Kellee Roesel after defeating Whittier 3-1 Friday night. After dropping the first 25-23, Cal Lutheran rallied to win the next three sets 25-23, 25-8, 25-23.
The first set saw the Cal Lutheran lead as late as 21-20 but Whittier capitalized on three Regal attacking errors in the final points to take the first game from CLU.
Game two unfolded much like the first with teams exchanging one point leads through the initial stages. Later, Cal Lutheran got back-to-back kills from Allie Eason and Kylie McLogan to go up 22-21. After a Whittier kill, Eason again came through, finishing a spike to put CLU 23-22, a lead the Regals would not relinquish, winning the second set 25-23.
The Regals hit on all cylinders during the third set, hitting .448 as team while holding Whittier to four kills en route to winning 25-8.
Cal Lutheran led all the way in the fourth set until Whittier tied it at 20-20 but the Regals held strong and closed out the decisive set.
McLogan was the top offensive player for CLU on Friday, notching 18 kills while Eason had 12 with just three errors and finished with a .360 attacking percentage. Pua Mo'Okini-Oliveira was third with 10 kills while Hayley Tamagni just missed out on double-digit kills, tallying nine kills. Caitlin Fransen came off the bench to have five kills on 10 swings with no errors.
Jackie Russell had 32 assists to along with three kills and Jena Chavez had 10 assists as a substitute.
Eason led the Regals defensively with 21 digs while Kennedy Peters had 19. McLogan had 13 digs and Russell had 11 to close out the defenders in double-figures. Tamagni had two solo blocks and five block assists.
Alayna Rigo led Whittier with 14 kills and 10 digs.
Cal Lutheran (11-1, 1-0 SCIAC) will be back in action next Tuesday, Sept. 24 when it takes on Pomona-Pitzer. The match is set to get underway at 7:30pm inside of Gilbert Arena.
Box Score: CLU 3 WC 1
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Follow Kylie: @k_mclogan and Pua: @puamookini
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