THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran women's volleyball (6-1, 0-0 SCIAC) beat Linfield for the second time this season in their first match of day two of the 2025 Cal Lu Fornia Invitational. This time, the Regals swept the Wildcats 25-21, 25-14, 25-19.

The Regals got off to a great start, building a 10-2 lead behind four kills from four different players, three of them set up by Makenna Kawamura.

Linfield (1-3, 0-0 NWC) stormed back to cut its deficit to 21-23 late in the first set before kills by Alex Hayes and Kennedy Smith iced it for the Regals. The clincher was Smith's fourth kill of the match, and Emily Ford also added four first-set kills.

A flurry of runs in the second set earned the Regals an early cushion that they would not relinquish. Three kills from Reese Balagot were a major factor, and Smith continued to make her presence felt with five more kills and two service aces, including the set-clincher. Cal Lutheran took set two easily, 25-14.

The Regals were the first team to reach double-digits in the third set, opening with a 10-7 advantage. Then Linfield suddenly caught fire, converting four consecutive points to take an 11-10 lead. The next few points went back-and-forth, resulting in a tie at 14 all.

Behind a pair of kills from both Tarin Rueckert and Ford, Cal Lutheran broke the set wide open with a six-point rally. The Regals would go on to win, as an Alex Hayes kill would end the match and give Cal Lutheran its sixth win in a row.

Smith recorded a team-high 12 kills on a .357 attack percentage while adding a solo block. Kawamura collected 19 assists, and Kylee Grimm provided 15 of her own. Keegan Corley kept up her impressive display on defense with 22 digs, and Kaylee Clayton added 15.

Linfield's first-year head coach Jenna Street is a Regals Volleyball alumna, as she was part of the 2006 team that reached the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament and a 2010 Cal Lutheran graduate. Street played under current coaches Kellee Roesel and Kevin Judd.

On returning to her alma mater as a coach, she said, "It's super special to be back here with this group of girls. I owe my coaching career to K-Judd because he asked me to be a coach my freshman year. I hope to be as influential to these girls as Kellee and K-Judd were to me, and I'm so grateful and happy to be here."

The Regals will look to finish the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational without a blemish on the record as they host UC Santa Cruz tonight at 7pm.