THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – No. 5 Cal Lutheran men's volleyball continued its strong showing at the Cal-Lu-Fornia Invitational on Monday night, defeating Wabash 3-1 inside Gilbert Arena. Despite the visitors' "Little Giants" nickname, it was the Kingsmen who played the bigger brand of volleyball, claiming the match by set scores of 25-18, 25-18, 25-27, 25-22.

Cal Lutheran improved to 18-4 on the season while hitting an efficient .354 as a team behind a standout performance from Connor Crawford.

The Kingsmen established the tone early in the opening set, pulling away midway through the frame behind a balanced offensive attack. Kills from Aidan Godfrey, Brendan Hom, and Crawford helped build separation before a Little Giants service error closed out the set. Cal Lutheran finished the frame hitting an impressive .480 with 16 kills.

Momentum carried into the second set as the Kingsmen once again created distance after a tight opening stretch. Crawford continued to pace the offense with several key swings, while an ace from Godfrey capped a late run that allowed Cal Lutheran to close on a 5-2 stretch and take a commanding two-set lead.

Wabash responded in the third set with its strongest offensive effort of the night, hitting over .300 while leaning heavily on Bawibawi Thang's eight kills. The set remained tight throughout and featured several late ties before the Little Giants strung together back-to-back kills in extra points to narrowly claim the frame and extend the match.

Cal Lutheran quickly regrouped in the fourth set and once again leaned on its depth to regain control. The Kingsmen gradually built a lead before Wabash mounted a late push behind several aggressive swings. With the margin tightening late, Crawford and Hom delivered key kills down the stretch to help secure the four-set victory.

Crawford led the Kingsmen with a dominant performance, recording 20 kills while hitting .486. Hom added 12 kills, while Godfrey chipped in nine.

Gavin Galanski directed the offense with 50 assists and added both a service ace and a block, while Braden Gonzales anchored the defense with a team-high 11 digs.

At the net, Matthew Wilcox led the Kingsmen with three block assists as Cal Lutheran finished with five total team blocks.