THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - On a night when the teams and many spectators donned pink to promote Breast Cancer Awareness, a loud and energetic crowd at the Gilbert Arena was treated to the No. 2 Cal Lutheran volleyball team downing Redlands in a quick three-set Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) sweep as the Regals ran away with 25-17, 25-14, 25-19 wins.
Redlands came out fired up, but once CLU got in a groove the Regals took a 6-5 lead and never looked back, pushing the gap to as many as six points in the first set. Allie Eason opened her night with seven kills in the first set to guide the Violet and Gold to the 25-17 final.
After a net violation ended the opening game, Cal Lutheran jumped ahead with a 5-0 advantage that included a decisive kill form Pua Mo'okini-Oliveira. The feisty Bulldogs battled, but once Hope Stewart stepped up to the service line, aided by chanting between the football and men's water polo teams, the momentum shifted as the freshman served for eight consecutive points, which included a pair of services aces. A 9-9 tie quickly turned into a 16-10 advantage and CLU would surrender just four more points in the game as they closed out the game at 25-14 on a Jena Chavez ace.
A brief intermission gave the teams a chance to regroup and the Bulldogs again returned to challenge the Regals. As CLU remained composed and chipped away at an early deficit, the home team looked to Mo'okini-Oliveiraand Sarah Pappas for a block to knot the teams at 11-11 mid-way through a sequence of six points off Eason serves that put Cal Lutheran back on top. Leading 16-14 Chavezreeled off four serves before Eason stepped back to serve the final two points, one being an ace to clinch the game, 25-19, and match.
Overall, Eason and Michelle Lawrence shared the match-high with 11 kills apiece while Pappas put down nine and Rohrer was the most accurate player on the court with five kills on seven swings. In nearly identical showings tonight, Chavez and Peters each finished with seven digs and an ace while recording 20 and 23 assists, respectively. Nicki Tetherow led all players with 13 digs.
Redlands (2-15, 2-9 SCIAC) looked to Ashton Martin for six kills, Ellie McLeod for 16 assists and Courtney Johnson for 12 digs in the loss.
Cal Lutheran (22-2, 11-1) travels to Chapman tomorrow night for a 6:00 p.m. first serve with the Panthers.
Box Score: CLU 3, UR 0
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