THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — On the last day of the CLU Invitational, Cal Lutheran men's volleyball team competed against Brooklyn College for the second time in Gilbert Arena on Saturday morning. The Violet and Gold looked to bounce back after a tough five-set loss to North Central the night before, and they did just that by beating the Bulldogs in three sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-17).

Midway through the first set, CLU held a slight lead, before a kill from Andrew Reina sparked a 7-1 run forcing the Bulldogs to take a timeout. With a 21-13 advantage, the Kingsmen held off a late Bulldogs rally to take the first set 25-18.

In the second set, the Violet and Gold combined for 13 kills on a .440 hitting percentage paced by four kills from Brendan Ward and four from Mason Mercer. CLU jumped out to a quick 6-11 lead and then took over the game with a service run from Ward. The Kingsmen took the second set 25-15.

Ward and Mercer continued to be efficient for the Kingsmen in the third set, helping them take another set from the Bulldogs 25-17. Ward added another five kills in the third set alone while Mercer also recorded three kills on three attempts. Ward and Nick Christy were aggressive at the net as Ward recorded two solo blocks and Christy added four total.

Ward finished with a career-high nine kills while Mercer had a season-high seven kills. Mateusz Plewa also had a career-high 17 assists and finished with one ace, one kill and five digs. Grant Nelson added 11 assists for the Kingsmen as well.

Ahmed Moawad led Brooklyn with eight kills while Sayuj Zachariah and Vaughn Titus added four.

Cal Lutheran (5-3) will face St. Katherine on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Gilbert Arena.

Box Score: CLU 3, BC 0
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Release by Nicki Tetherow, Assistant Sports Information Director