LA VERNE, Calif. - In one of the most crucial match of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) season, No. 3 Cal Lutheran traveled to No. 24 La Verne where the Regals ran to a 3-0 victory, winning 25-18, 25-22, 25-23 to maintain sole possession of first place in the league standings. With the win CLU clinched at least a share of the SCIAC title in 2014.
CLU stormed out to a 6-1 lead to force LV into taking a timeout. Four different players earned the first four kills of the night for Cal Lutheran and Nicki Tetherow put down a pair of service aces. The Regals returned to the court and continued to control the momentum and executed in all facets of the game, opening as much as an 11-2 advantage. Dianna Rohrer teamed up with Michelle Lawrence and then Allie Eason for back-to-back blocks midway through the game. La Verne was able to put together a couple short runs to chip back into the game, but ultimately the Regals ran away with the 25-18 first game victory on a kill by Lawrence to the back corner of the court.
In the second set, LV opened a 4-0 lead before Eason got CLU on the board. The Violet and Gold took an 8-7 lead on a service ace from Lawrence and the visiting team went on to lead 13-9. A very competitive set drew even at 13-13 on a Brittany Yaxley kill, but Sarah Pappas responded by notching a kill and Eason promptly placed a service ace on the wood. Tetherow added another ace and a huge dig from Eason led to a Rohrer kill as Cal Lutheran continued to be precise and pushed their lead to five points. A block on the right side from Nysa Allen and Kelsi Robinson closed the gap to 21-18 and the Leos would get within a pair at 22-20. A block from Eason and Pappas was followed by a Kennedy Peters ace and Eason then put the set to sleep at 25-22 with a kill.
Lawrence started the third game with consecutive kills and CLU took a 4-1 lead early. Moments later La Verne won a string of four straight points to turn the deficit into an 8-7 advantage. A back-and-forth battle saw the teams exchange points and never be separated by more than two throughout the remainder. With CLU ahead 22-21 the teams played the longest rally of the night with great blocking, hitting and defense on both sides of the net, though La Verne earned the point and knotted the teams back up at 22-22. A missed serve and miscommunication on the court from the Leos led to a 24-22 CLU upper hand and Eason put the game and match away at 25-23.
Overall, Cal Lutheran combined to hit at a .248 clip after notching a .370 hitting percentage in the first set. Leading the way offensively for the Regals was Lawrence with a match-high 14 kills followed by Rohrer with 11 and Eason with nine. Peters put up 20 assists and Jena Chavez chipped in with 14 while leading CLU with 11 digs. Tetherow finished with 10 digs and Eason had nine. Defensively, Rohrer racked up three blocks and Eason had a pair. As a team, the Violet and Gold tallied seven service aces with Tetherow recording a trio while Peters had two.
La Verne (20-4, 12-3 SCIAC) was paced by Yaxley with nine kills. Kailey Faust and Tiffany Mancuso had 14 and 13 assists, respectively. Robinson was a nuisance at the net with nine blocks. LV was limited to a .074 hitting percentage in the first set and the Leos went on to finish with a team percentage of .163.
Cal Lutheran (25-2, 14-1) returns home for the final match of the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 1 against Whittier. Prior to the game against the Poets a class of four seniors will be recognized. Teams are set to serve at 6:00 p.m. inside of the Gilbert Arena.
Box Score: CLU 3, LV 0
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