LA VERNE, Calif. – Cal Lutheran women's volleyball nearly completed a dramatic reverse sweep Saturday afternoon, battling back from a 2-0 deficit to force a decisive fifth set before ultimately falling to Westminster College 19-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-20, 11-15 at the Pacific Coast Classic inside the Sports Science Athletic Pavilion.
Westminster controlled the opening two sets, finding its rhythm offensively while Cal Lutheran struggled to generate consistent momentum. The Blue Jays hit .229 in the first set and .382 in the second, taking both frames 25-19 to build an early 2-0 advantage.
Facing the deficit, the Regals completely flipped the script in the third set. Cal Lutheran jumped out to a 13-9 lead and continued to hold the edge through the middle of the frame. Westminster eventually rallied to take a 24-23 lead, but the Regals answered with the final three straight points.
Cienna Alvarez recorded a kill and a service ace, and
Jessica Sun provided the kill that gave the Regals the 26-24 win to keep the match alive.
Cal Lutheran carried that momentum into the fourth set, racing out to a 7-2 lead behind aces from Alvarez and
Keegan Corley, along with kills from
Emily Ford and
Kennedy Smith. The Regals continued to apply pressure throughout the frame, building a 16-8 advantage before Westminster attempted a late push. Cal Lutheran held firm, with Alvarez recording two kills during the final stretch before Ford put away the match-tying point from Sun to secure the 25-20 victory and force a fifth set.
The decisive frame remained a battle from start to finish. The Regals held a 6-4 advantage early before Westminster answered to tie the set at 6-6. The teams continued trading points, with Cal Lutheran taking a 10-8 lead before the Blue Jays scored seven of the final eight points, to close out the win and narrowly deny the Regals the reverse sweep.
Alvarez led the Regals offensively with 14 kills while hitting .216, adding two aces and six digs. Sun was equally impactful, recording 24 assists, three blocks and two kills in four sets.
Corley anchored the defense with a match-high 30 digs while also adding three aces. Smith contributed 10 kills and 10 digs, while Ford finished with nine kills.
As a team, Cal Lutheran recorded 11 service aces compared to five for Westminster and matched the Blue Jays with eight blocks.
The Regals will return to action next weekend, September 11-12, at the University of Northwestern's St. Paul KTIS Classic in Minnesota.
