ST. PAUL, Minn. – Cal Lutheran women's volleyball split a pair of matches Friday at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul's KTIS Classic, falling to the University of Dubuque 3-2 before bouncing back to sweep Concordia College (Minn.) 3-0.
GAME ONE: Dubuque def. CLU (25-17, 21-25, 25-27, 25-18, 15-11)
Cal Lutheran finished with the statistical advantage in several categories against Dubuque, recording more kills (58-50), assists (54-48) and digs (70-66) while hitting .189 as a team. The Spartans, however, held the edge at the service line with 17 aces to five for the Regals.
Cienna Alvarez led Cal Lutheran with 15 kills, while
Kaylee Clayton added 12.
Aby Tibesar recorded eight kills and five blocks, while
Madeline Magnani had seven kills on a .353 clip.
Makenna Kawamura directed the offense with 29 assists and added 14 digs, while
Keegan Corley anchored the back row with a team-high 20 digs.
Dubuque took the opening set 25-17, but the Regals responded with their best offensive set of the match in the second. Cal Lutheran hit .353 and used a strong offensive attack to even the match with a 25-21 win.
The third set featured an early surge from the Spartans, who raced out to a 13-4 lead. Cal Lutheran answered with a run of its own, battling all the way back before holding off Dubuque in extra points for a 27-25 victory and a 2-1 lead.
The Spartans answered in the fourth set, pulling away late to force a deciding fifth. Neither squad could pull away in the final frame until the match was tied at 9-9, when Dubuque finished on a 6-2 run to claim the set and the match.
GAME TWO: CLU def. Concordia (Minn.) (25-22, 25-19, 25-17)
Cal Lutheran bounced back against Concordia, hitting .176 as a team while holding the Cobbers to a .079 clip. The Regals also held advantages in kills (36-29), aces (9-6), assists (33-26) and digs (56-49).
Emily Ford led the Regals with 10 kills while hitting .400, and
Tarin Rueckert added six kills on a .308 clip. Tibesar and Magnani contributed five kills each, while Clayton led the team with four aces. Rueckert, Ford and Tibesar each recorded two blocks at the net.
Freshman setter
Kimmy Wilson finished with a team-high 16 assists, with Kawamura adding 12. Corley posted a match-high 18 digs.
The Regals took control early in the opening set, building a lead before Concordia battled back to make it a competitive finish. Cal Lutheran held firm down the stretch to take the first set 25-22.
Cal Lutheran carried the momentum into the second, using a strong offensive start to build a 14-4 advantage. The Cobbers chipped away at the deficit with an 11-1 run to tie the set at 15-all, but the Regals responded and closed out the set 25-19.
The third set remained close early before Cal Lutheran began to pull away, applying pressure on both sides of the ball to finish off the sweep with a 25-17 victory.
UP NEXT
Cal Lutheran closes out the KTIS Classic Saturday morning against tournament host University of Northwestern-St. Paul at 9 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. CT.
