THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The second tournament of the year for the No. 10 Cal Lutheran women's volleyball team was within the friendly confines of the Gilbert Arena where the Regals finished the weekend with a 4-0 mark after defeating Life Pacific College, Providence Christian College, UC Santa Cruz and Willamette.
CLU def. Providence Christian College 3-0 (25-7, 25-12, 25-9):
Cal Lutheran looked to freshman Amanda Roberts for 11 kills and three service aces in a home opening victory. Molly Holloway matched her teammate with a trio of aces. Dani Gonzalez served as the Regals libero and led the way with nine digs while Hope Stewart put up a pair of block assists with five digs on the defensive side of things.
CLU def. UC Santa Cruz 3-1 (25-16, 25-13, 25-18):
Michelle Lawrence, who saw limited action in the opening match, was the CLU offensive leader in the nightcap with 14 kills, adding nine digs to nearly notch a double-double. Nicki Tetherow recorded 10 digs and shared a team-leading three service aces with Jamie Smith who handed out 31 assists in the win. Roberts had another strong showing with 10 more kills and two more aces from the service line. Defensively, Sarah Pappas put up a pair of solo blocks with two block assists and Monica Lundgren also had a solo stop in the match.
CLU def. Life Pacific College 3-0 (25-9, 25-22, 25-11):
To start Saturday and the second day of the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational, Roberts served seven of the first eight points as CLU built a quick lead and finished with nine kills in the win. Overall, Stewart produced 12 kills to lead the way with nine digs as well. Mikayla Dobson handed out 23 assists and contributed with seven digs and two of the nine service aces. Gonzalez was the top defensive player with 14 digs
CLU def. Willamette 3-1 (27-29, 29-27, 25-16, 25-22):
To wrap up the weekend, CLU looked to the duo of Smith and Lawrence who produced a pair of CLU career bests. While Lawrence put down 30 kills, Smith set the ball 62 times in a come-from-behind win over the Bearcats. Smith made it a double-double night with 13 digs as well. Dianna Rohrer came up with key kills, including the last of the night, finishing with 13 and Roberts also notched double figures with 10. Pua Mo'okini-Oliveira tallied two of the four service aces. Defensively, Tetherow led the way with 21 digs and Pappas provided the only solo block of the match with a pair of assists as well. Rohrer teamed up for three block assists, too. CLU did not have a blocking error in any of the four games.
Notables: Gonzalez was the starting libero for the first time of her CLU career on Friday afternoon against PCC and in the same match Dobsonmade her season debut as the Cal Lutheran setter. Erin Scuoler stepped on the court for the first time in college against LPC and recorded her first kill.
Next Up: Cal Lutheran (7-1) opens Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Wednesday, Sept. 15 against La Verne at 7:30 p.m. inside the Gilbert Arena.
Schedule: Cal Lutheran
Tournament Central: 2015 Cal Lu Fornia Invitational
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