THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The California Lutheran women's volleyball team lost against the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) #8 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a hard fought battle, 3-1 (25-13, 17-25, 25-15, 25-21), Tuesday night in Gilbert Arena.
The first set opened up with a back and forth fight for the first six points. The Athenas pulled ahead for a 9-3 lead forcing the Regals to call a timeout. CMS continued their momentum through most of the set. CLU attempted a last minute effort to come back, but they fell short losing the set 25-13. Molly Holloway led CLU with five kills, and Paris Dosch added four kills with a .500 hitting percentage.
In the second set, the Athenas took control early and had a 5-1 lead, but a service error sparked a 6-point Regals run to take the lead. CLU held onto its lead despite some challenges from CMS. The Athenas eventually tied up the set at 15 apiece, but the Violet and Gold refused to back down. This time the Regals forced the CMS coaching staff to call a timeout after taking an 18-15 lead.
The Regals came out fired up, and used their energy to propel them to a 25-17 second set win. Holloway and Dosch continued to lead CLU in kills with six and five, respectively. Amanda Roberts added four kills and three digs, while Jamie Smith contributed 8 assists and three digs.
The Athenas tried to distance themselves early in the third set, but the Regals held on until midway through the set. CMS kept its control through the rest of the set despite another late comeback attempt by the Regals. The Athenas took the third set 25-15. Holloway stayed at the top with 10 kills. Emma Cisneros-Luebke continued to contribute bringing her total to 20 digs and five assists.
In the fourth set, CMS scored a quick several points, but the Regals stormed back to take a 6-4 lead. Much like the second set, the Violet and Gold kept a small lead fending off the Athenas forcing another CMS timeout. The Regals led 15-11 going into the timeout. CMS fought their way back to tie it up at 18. There were two more ties before the Athenas won the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-1.
Holloway finished with 12 kills, while Hope Stewart had 10. Smith contributed 26 assists and seven digs. Cisneros-Luebke had 25 digs and five assists on the night.
The Athenas had two players with double-doubles. Mikena Werner had 24 digs and 10 assists, while Phoebe Madsen completed hers with 19 assists and 14 digs. Margaux Arntson led CMS in kills with a total of 18.
The Regals (8-9, 4-4 SCIAC) are back on the court Tuesday against La Verne at 7 p.m. inside Gilbert Arena.
Box Score: CMS 3, CLU 1
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director / Makenna Pellerin (Sports Information Intern)
