SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The Cal Lutheran men's volleyball team continued competition in the Slug Slam Tournament at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) on Saturday. The Kingsmen started the second day of the tri-team tournament beating Stevenson University in 4 sets and finished the day on a win as they went 3-2 with Illinois Tech.
Cal Lutheran's Alec Bennett and Grant Nelson were named to the Slug Slam All-Tournament Team.
Box Score: CLU 3, SU 1
Sophomores led the Kingsmen in the win over the Mustangs. Patrick Rowe had a season-high of 17 kills and hit at a .536 clip, while Kelly Jew added his season-high of 11 kills and hit .562. Rowe also added three service aces and eight digs. Bennett was right behind Rowe, tallying seven digs and four assists. Nelson had 37 assists and added four kills, hitting at a .571 rate, while middle blocker Justin Dietrich was strong at the net tallying six block assists.
It was point for point in the first set, until a kill from Andrew Reina which helped the Kingsmen gain a 9-2 run. Stevenson answered back right away with a 6-0 run, cutting the deficit down to 1 point. With a kill from Rowe, followed by a kill from Reina and an attacking error for the Mustangs, the Kingsmen were able to take the first set 25-20.
The second set started the same as each team went point for point. Until Mustangs Landon Shorts went on a 5-0 run, four of which were service aces. The Kingsmen tried to comeback from the deficit but were not able to, ultimately letting Stevenson take the second set, 25-21.
The Kingsmen bounced back immediately in the third as they took a quick 5-13 lead. The Mustangs struggled offensively at the net, allowing Cal Lutheran to sweep the set, 25-12. In the fourth, the score was tied up multiple times throughout. The Kingsmen were able to go on a 6-2 run mid set, which eventually led to the first win of the season and of the tournament as they beat Stevenson 25-19 in the fourth.
Box Score: CLU 3, IIT 2
Cal Lutheran was steady on both ends of the floor as they kept the Scarlet Hawks under 20 points in the first two sets, 25-18 and 25-19, giving them a 2-0 lead. The third set was a different story for Illinois Tech as they had a massive comeback after being down 21-14 late in the game. Scarlet Hawk senior Lukasz Kupiec knocked down five kills in the final 11 points for Illinois Tech as they went on a 12-3 run, winning the third set 26-24.
The Kingsmen struggled getting the momentum back. Cal Lutheran was down 21-14 but fought hard and had a late run. The Scarlet Hawks stayed strong though and took the fourth set, 25-22, forcing the Kingsmen into a fifth set.
Cal Lutheran scored the first three points, but Illinois Tech came back and tied it up, 10-10. It went back and forth between the Scarlet Hawks and our Kingsmen, but with a service error from Illinois Tech, Cal Lutheran was able to finish the tournament on a win over the Mustangs, 17-15, with a dig from Rowe, a set from Nelson and kill from Reina.
The Kingsmen finished the match with a total of 48 kills. Rowe led the team with 11 kills and was followed by Reina who had nine kills and four service aces. Cal Lutheran out-dug the Scarlet Hawks 63-50, where 30 of those digs came from sophomores Bennett and Nelson, who had 15 digs each, respectively. Nelson also added 35 assists and also had four service aces.
Cal Lutheran will see the court at 6 p.m. next Saturday, Jan. 20, in their first home game as they take on Hope International.
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Release by Nicki Tetherow, Assistant Sports Information Director
