THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran women's volleyball opened SCIAC play with one of the biggest wins in recent program history Thursday night, taking down Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 25-9, 22-25, 15-11), at Gilbert Arena. The victory marked Cal Lutheran's first win over the Athenas since 2018 and the first time the Regals have won a five-set match since the 2024 preseason.
After a back-and-forth opening to the first set, CMS jumped ahead 11-6 before the Regals fought back to even the score at 13. Kills from
Emily Ford,
Reese Balagot and
Kennedy Smith, along with an ace from
Kimmy Wilson, sparked the comeback before Cal Lutheran took control down the stretch. The Regals closed the set on a dominant run, with
Makenna Kawamura serving up three aces to put the set at game point before a CMS service error sealed the 25-19 victory.
CMS answered in the second, overcoming an early Cal Lutheran lead with an 11-1 run to take control. Three kills from
Cienna Alvarez helped the Regals battle back, but the Athenas held on to even the match at one set apiece.
The Regals came out firing in the third and ripped off the first 11 points of the set, with Smith collecting four kills during the opening run and Alvarez adding three aces. CMS managed three straight points of its own, but Cal Lutheran maintained full control and closed the set on a 6-1 run to take a 2-1 lead.
The Athenas refused to go quietly, battling through another tight fourth set. With the score tied at 20, CMS capitalized on three Cal Lutheran errors and added two kills from game-leader Ashlee Sento to force a decisive fifth set.
Cal Lutheran and CMS traded points throughout the final frame, but kills from Ford,
Tarin Rueckert and Alvarez helped the Regals pull away when it mattered most. A final CMS error sent the Regals into celebration with a 15-11 fifth-set victory and a historic 3-2 triumph.
Rueckert and
Aby Tibesar were unstoppable in the middle, combining for 24 kills with just one error. Rueckert hit .600 with 12 kills, while Tibesar posted 12 kills on 17 attacks for a .647 hitting percentage. Ford and Smith added 10 kills apiece, while Alvarez finished with 10 kills and a team-high four aces.
Defensively,
Keegan Corley was everywhere, recording a match-high 31 digs to anchor a Cal Lutheran defense that totaled 86. Kawamura added 11 digs and 24 assists, while Wilson chipped in 20 assists and nine digs.
The Regals also dominated from the service line, racking up 10 aces to the Athenas' four. Alvarez led the way with four, while Kawamura and Wilson each added three.
With the win, Cal Lutheran improves to 5-6 overall and 1-0 in SCIAC play, while CMS falls to 4-6 overall and 0-1 in conference action.
The Regals will look to carry the momentum into Saturday's matchup at Caltech, with first serve set for 4 p.m. in Pasadena.
