Beverly, Mass. — Patrick Rowe's double-digit hit night lifted the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen over the Endicott Gulls in straight sets Thursday evening. The Kingsmen finish their spring break road trip a perfect 5-0, allowing just one set to their opponents on the entire trip and moving to 18-8 on the season.
Rowe led the Kingsmen with 12 kills, 12 digs and a .385 hitting percentage. Mason Mercer added seven more kills to the tally while Justin Dietrich notched six kills and six blocks.
The Cal Lutheran and Endicott seesawed back and forth throughout the first set, neither team holding on to more than a three point lead, however the Kingsmen were able to capitalize on Endicott's nine hitting errors in the first set to secure the 25-21 win. Michael Campbell started the evening's offensive performance with a kill while Mercer put away the set with the last two kills for Cal Lutheran.
Rowe found his stride in set two, as the team continued to find holes in the Gull defense, never releasing grip of the lead. Campbell, again, had the first kill of the set and the team jumped out early to a 4-0 behind serves from Andrew Reina. Their roll continued to 12-4, their biggest lead of the night before a midway rally from Endicott cut the gap to just three points. However, after his 15-kill performance yesterday, Reina nailed the final kill for the 25-20 set win.
Endicott's defense stepped up in set three though, jumping out 12-8. The Kingsmen responded with an 8-1 scoring run of their own sparked by kills from Rowe and Mercer to regain the lead for the final time of the night. Endicott's rebuttal fell short as they climbed within two before surrendering the match 25-22 on a service error by Chad Riorden.
The Kingsmen return home Thursday, April 5, 2018, at 7 p.m. against Moorpark College for senior night.
Box Score: CLU 3, END 0
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Release by Christy Effendie, Assistant Sports Information Director