THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— Cal Lutheran men's volleyball swept its third straight opponent as the Kingsmen defeated Emmanuel (Mass.) 3-0 on Friday afternoon. The scores of the match were 25-21, 25-15, 25-21.

CLU got back to .500 after winning its third straight game. The Kingsmen are now 7-7 overall while Emmanuel dropped to 10-8.

The Kingsmen started strong and had an attack percentage of .385 in the first set. However, it wasn't just about the attackers to start. CLU had an early 9-4 lead after an ace from Justin Dietrich and then solo blocks from Grant Nelson and Patrick Rowe. Cal Lutheran kept the pressure on and doubled up Emmanuel at 16-8. The Kingsmen used that momentum and took the first set 25-21. 

The second set was very close early on. With CLU up 9-7, the Kingsmen scored four straight points as Dasmen Stewart swatted down two kills and Brendan Ward served an ace. Up 14-10, the Violet and Gold used another 4-0 run to take command of the set. CLU walked away with the set-win, 25-15, and took a 2-0 match lead.    

With set three tied at 11, Mason Mercer recorded a kill to start a 4-0 run. Ward had the final kill of the run and CLU was up 15-11. The Lions bounced back and only trailed by one, 17-16, before CLU got the breathing room back and led 20-16. The final kill was swatted down by Rowe and the Kingsmen won the third set 25-21 and swept the Lions. 

Mercer tallied the game-high in kills with seven, while hitting .400, and Dietrich, Rowe and Andrew Reina all added seven more. Dietrich hit his seven kills with a .600 clip. 

Three setters got in on the action for the Violet and Gold. They moved the ball around well as Alec Bennett dished out 14 assists, Nelson tallied 10 and Kelly Jew added seven. Ward kept the defense on its toes and served three aces. 

Defensively, Eli Moore recorded a match-high 10 digs. It is the second time this season he has tallied 10 digs and it tied his career-high. 

The Kingsmen end the Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic on Saturday with two games. Cal Lutheran will host Johnson & Wales at 12 p.m. and will end the classic with Rivier at 6 p.m. 

Interview with Alec Bennett and Mason Mercer:

Box Score: CLU 3, EU 0
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director