SANTA CRUZ, Calif.— Kingsmen volleyball's regular season came to an end with a loss to UC Santa Cruz on Saturday night with a score of 3-1. The scores of the match were 21-25, 22-25, 25-16, 20-25.
The loss drops the Kingsmen to 14-10 and the losing streak against the Banana Slugs continues. In the four years since CLU's program started back up, they have yet to defeat UCSC. Cal Lutheran's playoff hopes now rest in the hands on a NCAA committee. The selection show is set for Monday morning.
The first set was close early on, but the Banana Slugs had a slight advantage at 13-11. UC Santa Cruz then went on a 4-0 run and opened up their lead. They kept a small distance the rest of the way and took the first set 25-21. The second set continued to be just as close, but UCSC pulled out the win, 25-22.
Cal Lutheran looked to bounce back and came out on fire in the third set. With CLU up 8-6, the Kingsmen scored eight of the next nine points, two four-point runs, and took a 16-7 lead. The offense came from all over the place as Andrew Reina tallied two kills and Grant Nelson, Patrick Rowe and Brendan Ward all recorded one. Cal Lutheran continued their domination in the third set and took the set 25-16.
The Kingsmen scored at least 20 points in every set, but the Banana Slugs came out on top. UCSC took the fourth set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
Reina led the attack with 14 kills and had a hitting percentage of .321. He was one dig short of a double-double and also added three block assists.
Justin Dietrich and Rowe both added eight kills and Dasmen Stewart and Ward both had seven. Alec Bennett and Grant Nelson kept the offense moving and both dished out 17 assists.
Ward tallied a team-high four blocks assists and Dietrich and Rowe both had three. Eli Moore recorded a match-high 14 digs. Reina was next with nine, Rowe had seven and Nelson recorded five.
The Kingsmen's season comes down to the NCAA selection committee which will chose the final two at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament.
Box Score: UCSC 3, CLU 1
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director