THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran women's volleyball came within one point of a three-set win before Schreiner rallied to complete a reverse sweep Friday night, defeating the Regals 20-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-20, 15-11 in the opening match of the 19th annual Cal Lu Fornia Invitational inside the Gilbert Arena.
Cal Lutheran (3-5) controlled the opening two sets and held a 24-22 advantage in the third before Schreiner (5-2) won four straight points to extend the match. The Mountaineers then carried that momentum through the fourth set before pulling away late in the decisive fifth.
The Regals finished with 58 kills and held a significant 11-2 advantage in blocks, but Schreiner finished with the edge in kills (68-58), digs (100-86) and overall points (77-74).
Makenna Kawamura and
Kimmy Wilson each recorded double-doubles to lead the Cal Lutheran offense. Kawamura finished with 25 assists and 12 digs, while Wilson added 21 assists and 14 digs.
Senior middle blocker
Tarin Rueckert turned in a strong performance, recording eight kills while hitting a team-best .353 and adding a team-high seven blocks. Fellow senior middle
Aby Tibesar also contributed eight kills and hit .238, while
Madeline Magnani added eight kills and five blocks.
Cienna Alvarez led the Regals with 12 kills and added three blocks and two service aces.
Keegan Corley anchored the defense with a match-high 27 digs.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle through the first 14 points before Schreiner pulled ahead 10-8. Cal Lutheran steadily chipped away, with kills from
Emily Ford and Magnani helping the Regals draw even at 15-all. From there, Cal Lutheran closed the set on a 10-4 run, with
Kennedy Smith putting down a kill before Rueckert came up with big blocks late to give the Regals a 1-0 lead.
Schreiner opened the second set with five consecutive points after early kills from Magnani and
Kaylee Clayton, but the Regals quickly answered. Kills from Smith and Ford, along with a block from Tibesar and Ford, helped Cal Lutheran take an 11-10 lead.
The Regals continued to spread the offense around late in the frame, winning the final six points of the set. Alvarez provided an ace, while four different Regals recorded kills during the closing run to put Cal Lutheran ahead 2-0.
Cal Lutheran again had to battle from behind in the third set, eventually working its way to a 24-22 lead and moving within one point of closing out the match. Schreiner responded with four consecutive points, however, taking the set 26-24 and keeping the match alive.
The Regals regained an early advantage in the fourth, building a 7-4 lead behind kills from Rueckert and Alvarez and an ace from Clayton. Schreiner answered in the second half of the set, closing on a 10-4 run to force the decisive fifth.
The final set remained tight early, with Rueckert and
Reese Balagot providing kills as Balagot sparked the Regals off the bench and helped Cal Lutheran take a 6-4 lead. Schreiner controlled the middle portion of the set, however, and eventually pulled away to complete the reverse sweep.
