FULLERTON, Calif. – Back in the win column, the No. 6 Cal Lutheran men's volleyball team rolled to a dominant 3-0 sweep over Hope International on Tuesday night inside Darling Pavilion. The Kingsmen improved to 19-5 overall with the 25-16, 25-16, 25-12 victory.

Cal Lu controlled the match from start to finish, using efficient offense, strong net play, and deep rotation contributions to overwhelm the Royals.

The Kingsmen set the tone early in the opening frame, with Tyler Linville recording the match's first point. The teams traded blows through a 10-10 tie before CLU flipped the switch, unleashing an extended run to build an 18-11 advantage. The surge proved decisive, and a block by Matthew Wilcox and Nathan Diaz punctuated the 25-16 set win.

Cal Lutheran carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead behind consecutive kills from Connor Crawford and Linville. While the Royals kept things within reach early, the Kingsmen maintained control throughout. A mid-set push, highlighted by multiple Linville kills and a Wilcox finish, stretched the lead to 13-8.

From there, the Kingsmen steadily pulled away. Back-to-back blocks pushed the margin to 21-15, and out of an HIU timeout, Cal Lu slammed the door shut. A pair of Royals errors, along with kills from Jude Deemer and Aidan Godfrey, sealed another 25-16 win.

The third set followed a similar script, with Linville once again opening the scoring. The Kingsmen quickly built separation, using a series of Linville kills to go up 11-6 and force an early timeout. HIU showed brief resistance, but Cal Lu responded with a decisive stretch.

A marathon rally ending in a Royals overpass error sparked another run, followed by a Wilcox kill and additional HIU miscues to extend the lead to 17-8. The Kingsmen continued to dominate at the net, as a block from Wilcox and Crawford, a kill from Ryan Foreman, and another block from Mason Rowell and Diaz pushed the advantage to double digits.

Cal Lutheran closed out the sweep in style, finishing the match on a Diaz service ace and a commanding block by Rowell and Gavin Galanski to secure the 25-12 victory.

Linville led all players with 15 kills on an efficient .480 hitting percentage, pacing a balanced Kingsmen attack that hit .338 as a team. Crawford added seven kills while hitting .400, and Godfrey chipped in five kills.

Galanski orchestrated the offense with 28 assists and added eight digs, while Braden Gonzales anchored the back row with a match-high 14 digs.

At the net, the Kingsmen were dominant, totaling 10 team blocks. Wilcox led the way with five blocks, while Rowell contributed four and Galanski added three.

Cal Lutheran saw contributions across the roster in the win, with 17 different players appearing in the match.

The Kingsmen will return to action next week with a road test at NCAA Division I UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, March 24 at 7 p.m. Prior to that, Cal Lutheran will host its annual Alumni Match on Friday, March 20 at 6 p.m. inside Gilbert Arena.