THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Before a packed house inside of the Gilbert Arena the No. 2 Cal Lutheran volleyball team gave their fans something to cheer about on Homecoming by downing Occidental 3-0 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play tonight, winning by 25-12, 25-22, 25-18 margins.
The Regals quickly executed by starting off the first set with back-to-back kills from Pua Mo'okini-Oliveira and never looking back. All the starting hitters chipped in at least two kills in the set and Michelle Lawrence totaled five to lead all players, followed by Dianna Rohrer with three. The Regals were fluid throughout and did a great a job in all facets of the game, finishing the set with 18 kills on 29 swings with just two errors for a .552 team hitting percentage. CLU added four combined ace serves with Lawrence notching two and Jena Chavez, and Nicki Tetherow each tallying one in the dominant 25-12 win.
In the second set, the Tigers fought back and scored three straight points to allow put CLU in an early deficit. Mo'okini-Oliveira and Allie Eason responded with kills of their own, along with a double block from Lawrence and Rohrer to regain the momentum. Lawrence and Rohrer continued to aid the Regals with kills throughout the whole set. Oxy was able to stay close in the set due to a handful of errors from the host squad. At 11-10 in favor of CLU, Lawrence ended a long rally with her ninth kill of the night from the back row. After a solo block from Pappas and another kill from Lawrence, Occidental was forced to call a time out as they then trailed 16-12. Out of the intermission, Eason served four straight points, but the Tigers chipped away and came back to take a 20-19 lead after a big block from the Black and Orange. A sloppy rally on the ensuing play came to a close when Mo'okini-Oliveira put down a kill to tie the teams at 20-20. Rohrer and Eason finally ended the match with a double block and the Regals took the second set 25-22.
The third set started off exactly like the second did. The Tigers scored the first three points again, but Pappas got into her rhythm and ultimately recorded six kills on eight chances in the third set all of which were assisted by Jamie Smith. The Regals implemented a game plan and maintained their momentum throughout the game, which allowed for numerous reserves to make an appearance in the last set. Dani Gonzalez scored three straight points from the service line, one being an ace serve. Hope Stewart and Monica Lundgren both contributed offensively and defensively where they put up a double block, followed by a kill from Lundgren. Lindsey Kuramoto came in at the end of the game to collect a service ace before Eason put the game and match away with a kill.
Overall, Lawrence led all players with 15 kills, nearly as many as the entire Occidental team (19). Pappas was next in line for the Regals with nine and zero hitting errors. Kennedy Peters led the match with 21 assists and Chavez chipped in with 10. Defensively, Eason produced 12 digs for a share of the match-high and Pappas put up a pair of solo blocks with two additional block assists. Eason finished with three block assists and both Rohrer and Stewart also pitched in with two apiece.
Occidental (5-16, 3-8 SCIAC) was led by Claire Strohm with nine kills and she equaled Eason's dig tally with 12. Kandace Korver and Tiareh Cruz finished with 11 and 10 digs, respectively, for the Tigers.
With the win tonight, CLU has now posted double figure wins in SCIAC competition for 11straight seasons.
Cal Lutheran (21-1, 10-0) returns to the court on Tuesday, Oct. 22 when the Regals travel to No. 18 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps for a 7:30 p.m. meeting with the Athenas.
Box Score: CLU 3, OXY 0
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