Kingsmen Sweep Second Straight Opponent; Take Down Bulldogs

Kingsmen Sweep Second Straight Opponent; Take Down Bulldogs

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— Cal Lutheran men's volleyball continued the Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic with another sweep as the Kingsmen defeated the Adrian Bulldogs 3-0 on Thursday night. The scores of the match were 25-23, 25-19, 25-18.

The Kingsmen swept their second straight match and fifth this season. They are now 6-7 while the Bulldogs fell to 11-6. 

The Violet and Gold offense was on point, led by Andrew Reina and Patrick Rowe with 10 kills each. More Kingsmen got in on the fun as Justin Dietrich and Mason Mercer both had eight and Brendan Ward chipped in five. 

The duo of Grant Nelson and Alec Bennett kept the ball moving on offense as they shared the love between their teammates. The setters dished out 40 assists in all as Nelson had 25 and Bennett put up 15 more. 

Cal Lutheran continued its strong night on the defense end too. Ward was a wall at the net and recorded six total blocks. Reina was next with four blocks while Dietrich and Dasmen Stewart both added two more. 

The defense tallied 29 digs in all with Rowe and Reina leading the pack with six each. The defense was all over the place and Nelson was next with five digs and Eli Moore tallied four more. 

The Kingsmen offense dominated at the net and recorded an attack percentage of .296 while holding the Bulldogs to .146. At the net, CLU combined for 16 total block assists and Adrian had just 10.  

Cal Lutheran scored the first point of the match and kept a small distance for most of the set. With the Kingsmen up 16-15, CLU scored three straight points to give themselves some breathing room. Dietrich and Rowe both tallied kills during the run. The Kingsmen used the momentum from the run and took the first set 25-23. 

The second set was tied five times early on. With the score knotted up at 10-10, CLU went on a 9-3 run and took a commanding lead. Cal Lutheran picked up their play around the net as Stewart and Dietrich, Ward and Reina and then Ward a Stewart all combined for blocks. That was the run the Violet and Gold needed as they claimed the second set 25-19. 

The third set continued to be close and went back and forth in the early stages. CLU was down late, 15-14, before turning it on. Rowe and Ward tallied kills in a three-point run and the Kingsmen took the lead at 17-15. A few plays later, CLU was up 21-18, and then scored four straight to end the match. Stewart and Dietirch swatted down back-to-back kills and Reina served two aces for the final points as the Kingsmen won the set 25-18 and swept the Bulldogs.

The Cal-Lu-Fornia Classic continues for the Kingsmen on Friday. Cal Lutheran will take on Emmanuel at 1 p.m. in Gilbert Arena. 

Box Score: CLU 3, AC 0
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director