CLAREMONT, Calif. - Opening weekend for the No. 5 Cal Lutheran women's volleyball team is in the books after a 3-1 showing at the Pacific Coast Classic hosted by La Verne and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, respectively, on Friday and Saturday. The Regals rolled past Colby-Sawyer, LeTourneau and Puget Sound despite dropping a match to Carthage.
CLU def. Puget Sound 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-18):
Cal Lutheran hit .500 in the second set and finished with a .345 team hitting percentage to start the season. Both Pua Mo'okini-Oliveira and Sarah Pappas put down 10 kills and Michelle Lawrence recorded nine. Jamie Smith notched 33 assists and was 4-for-4 on kill attempts without an error. Mo'okini-Oliveira and Nicki Tetherow led the way with nine digs apiece and Pappas finished with four block assists while Lawrence tallied three. Additionally, Mo'okini-Oliveira capped off her hot senior start with two service aces.
CLU def. LeTourneau 3-1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-3, 25-17):
A slow start turned into a dominating third set in which the Violet and Gold only gave up three points while hitting at a .630 clip with 18 kills and just one error in 27 chances. Mo'okini-Oliveira again led the way with 15 kills and added a team-high 14 digs for her first double-double of the year, while providing three service aces as well. Smith also had a double-double with 46 assists and 12 digs, matching the defensive effort of Tetherow. Lawrence contributed with 13 kills, nine digs, the lone solo block of the day and four more block assists. Pappas recorded five block assists and was a kill shy of her second double-figure performance of the season in as many matches with nine.
Carthage def. CLU (25-16, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18):
After Carthage stole the first two sets, Cal Lutheran, with its back against the wall, chipped away and took the third set to cut the team deficit in half. Unfortunately, for the Regals the hitting struggles continued and the win went to Carthage. Lawrence had a hot arm, notching 23 kills while Smith set the ball 31 times. Taking over as the setter, Steph Rolfson handed out 15 assists in her inaugural college contest. Pappas and Amanda Roberts had eight kills apiece. Tetherow had a 20-dig match and Lawrence earned 10 for a double-double.
Colby-Sawyer vs. CLU (25-15, 25-14, 25-9):
The final contest of the weekend saw CLU cruise past Colby Sawyer. Monica Lundgren had her best match wearing the Violet and Gold as she hit .923 with 12 kills and no errors in 13 swings. Lawrence hit double digits, again, with 10 and Smith handed out 32 assists. Roberts was hot at the service line with six aces and Lawrence added three more. Defensively, Lawrence paced the Regals with nine digs.
Notables: Against UPS, Amanda Roberts made her debut and later in the day versus LeTourneau she recorded her first collegiate kill (finished with three), dig (finished with four) and service ace. CJ O'Brien and Steph Rolfson each made her first CLU appearance on Saturday. Rolfson put down her first collegiate service ace late in the third set against Carthage to keep CLU alive and O'Brien notched the first official dig of her career as well as the only solo block of the same match. Lawrence and Mo'okini-Oliveira were named to the PCC All-Tournament Team.
Next Up: Cal Lutheran (3-1) returns home to the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center where the Regals will host the Eighth Annual Cal Lu Fornia Invitational inside of the Gilbert Arena and Soiland Recreation Center on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11-12. CLU will play four matches in two days with the first day featuring Providence Christian College and UC Santa Cruz at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively.
Schedule: Cal Lutheran
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