THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Cal Lutheran men's volleyball team came out on fire and swept St. Katherine (25-15, 25-22, 25-19) and then defeated the Firebirds in four sets (23-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-23) on Saturday.

In their first match of the year, Jake Tucker led the team with 11 kills, adding to the Kingman total of 33 kills. Jacob Cudiamat led in assists with 13.

The offense was on a roll as four Kingsmen, Cudiamat, Sean Fitzpatrick, Logan Marks, and Ryker Linn, had an attack percentage of .400 or better.

The defense also did its part and had 7.5 blocks. Max Strehl led the way tallying three blocks, while Cudiamat and Ben Webber added 2 blocks as well. Jonathan Silva and Noah Rigo each had aces to shock Saint Katherine.

There were four lead changes in the second set, but the Purple and Gold fought hard to not give it up. Despite going down 15-11, the Kingsmen went on an 8-4 run to tie the match at 19. Going down again 21-20, the men took the set back with a 23-21 lead and never looked back. 

The Kingsmen continued their superb play in the second match. Eric Chabon tallied 11 kills, while hitting with a .600 clip. Tucker was next with nine kills and Fitzpatrick had eight more.

CLU spread the love around, with three different setters getting playing time. Griffin Geringer had 18 assists while Cudiamat and Alec Bennett both added 11. Eli Moore led the defense with 17 digs.

The first set went back and forth and St. Katherine escaped with the win. The Kingsmen bounced back and tied the set with a huge 25-15 win. The Firebirds kept the next two sets close, but the Kingsmen overpowered them for the win.

The Kingsmen play their next match on April 15 at home against Moorpark. First serve is set for 7 p.m.

Box Score: CLU 3, USK 0; CLU 3, USK 1
CLU Instagram: CLUSports
Sport IG: kingsmen_volleyball
CLU Twitter: CLUSports
Sport Twitter: CLUmVolleyball
CLU Facebook: CLUSports
Hashtags: #clusports #ownthethrone #goregals #gokingsmen #theSCIAC #ncaad3

Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director