THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - A much-anticipated Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) women's volleyball showdown took place tonight inside a standing room only Gilbert Arena when No. 7 Cal Lutheran swept No. 9 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 25-22, 25-14, 25-15 to remain undefeated in league action.
On a night when the crowd was hefty and energetic, the Regals came out with all cylinders firing, basically controlling the entire match. After a tight first game, CLU ran away with the second and third sets to complete the sweep.
The teams were never separated by more than five points throughout the opening set thought the momentum was clearly on the Regals' side with the aid of a great student section. Down the stretch, each team used a timeout to its advantage coming out of the huddle to score the next two points. First CMS inched closer from a 21-17 deficit and then CLU did the same, opening things back up with back-to-back points after a timeout at 22-21. The set went to the home squad by a 25-22 margin to an elated arena.
Whatever momentum was created in the opening game carried over to the second set for the Regals who found an early rhythm and opened numerous sizable advantages, leading by as much as a dozen points at 21-9. A block from Monica Lundgren and Michelle Lawrence put the game in the books at 25-14 with an exclamation point.
In the final game Cal Lutheran opened a 6-0 lead forcing an early CMS timeout. The flow of the game remained on the side of the Violet and Gold and the Athenas never got closer than six points. The game and match ended on a Molly Holloway serve that turned into a Lawrence kill.
The Regals executed in many facets of the game, finishing with a team hitting percentage of .313, while limiting the Athenas to a .097, clip and 8.0 total blocks including 12 block assists and a pair of solo stop, both coming from junior Sarah Pappas. In addition to the solo blocks, she finished with three block assists with Lundgrenmatching that tally. Lawrence, Allie Eason and Jamie Smith each recorded a pair of block assists as well. Offensively, Lawrence paced the Regals with 12 kills while a trio of teammates, Eason, Lundgren and Pappas added seven apiece. Eason made it a double-double night with 10 digs, on shy of a match-high 11 from Nicki Tetherow. Amanda Roberts contributed with a six-kill, six-dig night as well.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (12-4, 2-2 SCIAC) was led by Nicole Kerkhof with eight kills and Mariah Rigg with seven. Rigg also had three block assists as well. Tanner Hoke and Clara Madsen split the setting duties, finishing with 17 and 12, respectively. Mikena Werner notched 10 digs.
Cal Lutheran (13-2, 3-0) returns to the court on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at Occidental for a 7:30 p.m. first serve.
Box Score: CLU 3, CMS 0
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