REDLANDS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran women's volleyball brought the bite on the road Tuesday night, sweeping Redlands (25-19, 25-21, 25-11) at Currier Gym to remain perfect in SCIAC play.
The Regals (7-5, 3-0 SCIAC) earned some sweet revenge in the process, taking down the Bulldogs for the first time since Redlands ended Cal Lutheran's run in the SCIAC Tournament last season. The victory also marks Cal Lutheran's best start to conference play since 2022.
Redlands held a slight advantage through the early points of the opening set before the Regals stormed back. Down by four, Cal Lutheran benefited from a Redlands service error to get the ball back, then posted back-to-back blocks from
Tarin Rueckert and
Kennedy Smith before Smith added another solo rejection to put the Regals ahead 11-10.
From there, Cal Lutheran maintained control.
Cienna Alvarez and
Aby Tibesar helped keep the offense rolling before
Kimmy Wilson served up an ace to close out the opening frame, 25-19.
The Regals came out firing again in the second set, taking a 7-2 lead behind kills from Smith and Alvarez. Redlands chipped away at the deficit, but Cal Lutheran continued to pour it on through the middle points. A kill from Tibesar and a pair of blocks from Rueckert pushed the Regals' lead to 16-10.
Tibesar delivered another kill to bring Cal Lutheran to set point, but the Bulldogs fought off four straight chances to stay alive. The Regals finally finished the job when
Emily Ford slammed a kill to put Cal Lutheran up 2-0 with a 25-21 victory.
The final set was all Purple & Gold, as Cal Lutheran took a hefty 15-7 lead behind Tibesar, who recorded two kills and a solo block during the early run. The Regals served up four aces in the set to further push the envelope, while kills from Ford and Smith extended the advantage to 20-9.
Cal Lutheran closed the match on a 5-1 run, featuring kills from Rueckert, Alvarez and
Reese Balagot. With the Regals at match point,
Azaria Nelson came off the bench and immediately made an impact, closing out the sweep with a solo block for a 25-11 third-set victory.
Alvarez led the Cal Lutheran attack with 10 kills while hitting .364, while Tibesar and Rueckert each added seven kills. Tibesar hit .400 for the night, while Rueckert finished at .353 and added a team-high five blocks.
Rueckert's five blocks led a strong defensive effort at the net, with Smith adding four and Tibesar three. As a team, the Regals totaled 10 blocks while limiting Redlands to a .069 hitting percentage.
Reigning SCIAC Athlete of the Week
Keegan Corley anchored the back row with a match-high 23 digs, while
Makenna Kawamura added 13. Kawamura also dished out 17 assists, with Wilson adding 14 to help guide the Cal Lutheran offense.
Wilson and Alvarez each recorded two aces, while Rueckert and Kawamura had one apiece as the Regals totaled six service aces.
With the win, Cal Lutheran improves to 7-5 overall and 3-0 in SCIAC play. The Regals are off to their best conference start since 2022, and can make an even bigger jump in the history books with a win Saturday.
Cal Lutheran returns home to host Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, October 3, at 4 p.m. inside Gilbert Arena. A victory would give the Regals their best start to SCIAC play since the 2015 national championship season.
