THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran's Andrew Reina, Patrick Rowe and Justin Dietrich each tallied double-digit kills as the Kingsmen defeated the Hope International Royals 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 25-17, 16-25, 15-10) in a hard-fought five-set match Saturday night in Gilbert Arena.

The Kingsmen improved to 3-2, their first time being over .500 in program brief three-year history. CLU defeated Hope International for the first time in five meetings.  

Reina tallied the second-most kills in a game in program history as he swatted down 17. He did so with a .294 clip. He was one dig shy of a double-double and finished with a match-high 9.

Rowe totaled 15 digs. He added five digs and three block assists. Dietrich added 11 more kills. Dietrich was a force around the net and had nine total blocks, two solo and nine assisted. The 11 total kills are a program record.

Kelly Jew and Michael Campbell added to the kill count and added six apiece. Altogether, the Kingsmen had 59 kills and had a hitting percentage of .260.

Grant Nelson moved the ball around and kept the offense going. He totaled 50 assists, the second-most for a match in program history. He helped protect the back line with eight digs.

Hope International jumped all over the Kingsmen in the first game. The Royals' lead was as big as 8-2. CLU bounced back and eventually tied the game at 20. HIU countered back and ended the game on a 5-0 run and went up 1-0. The Kingsmen bounced back in the second game and won a close one, 25-21, and tied up the match at 1-1.

With game three tied at 9, the Kingsmen used a 9-3 run and took an 18-12 lead. Rowe tallied three kills during the run. Kelly Jew, Dietrich and Reina each added one more. Rowe and Campbell combined for a block assist. The Kingsmen used the momentum from that run and took game three 25-17. Hope International answered in game four, won 25-16 and tied the match at 2-2.

With game five tied at three, Campbell and Reina tallied back-to-back kills to take a 5-3 lead. With the Kingsmen up 10-9, Rowe, Jew and Reina each had a kill in a 4-0 run and CLU had a 14-9 lead. CLU won the third game, 15-10, and the match 3-2.

The Kingsmen return to the court Thursday, Feb. 1, and take on Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m. in Gilbert Arena.

Box Score: CLU 3, HIU 2
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director