CLAREMONT, Calif.— The Cal Lutheran women's volleyball team opened up the 2018 season by going 2-0 on Friday at the Pacific Coast Classic which was hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, La Verne and Pomona-Pitzer. The Regals took down two top-15 teams as CLU topped both No. 6 Johnson & Wales (26-24, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23) and No. 14 Carthage (18-25, 25-18, 34-32, 26-24) 3-1.
In the first match against Johnson & Wales, it was a career day for a couple Regals. Sophomore Sarah Hein saw her first complete game action and thrived as she set career highs for kills and digs with 14 and 21, respectively. Senior captain Amanda Roberts joined her in the double-double column with 15 kills and 11 digs.
Senior Paris Dosch and freshman Maci Haddad made it four Regals with double-digit kills. Dosch swatted down a career-high 12 kills, with a .480 attack percentage, and added three block assists. Haddad got her first collegiate start and showed what she could do with 10 kills and hit with a .435 clip. She also tallied three block assists.
Senior setter Steph Rolfson kept the offense moving with 41 assists. She had an all-around game as she added seven digs, three kills and two block assists. Jennifer Kent also saw action at the setter position and recorded 12 assists. Junior libero Carly Rose Howard was great on the defensive end and recorded 20 digs.
FreshmenLauren Heller and Julia Trento also saw their first collegiate action. They both recorded a pivotal service ace.
It was a rusty start for JWU as Cal Lutheran took advantage of errors and had an early lead. The Regals made it 15-11 after back-to-back block assists by Hein and Dosch and then Amy McKee and Dosch. CLU kept that distance for most of the game and fended off the Wildcats at the end and won the first game 26-24.
The Regals carried that momentum into the second set and a 10-4 lead. JWU fought back and tied the game at 10. CLU then went on a 10-5 run and took a commanding 20-15 lead. CLU took game two 25-21 and had a 2-0 lead in the match. The Wildcats answered the call in game three and won 25-23.
The fourth game went back and forth early on before JWU took a 17-12 lead that prompted a Cal Lutheran timeout. After that, it was all Regals. Dosch, Roberts, Haddad, Hein and Mackenzie Martinez each connected on a kill during a 7-2 run to tie the game at 19. The Violet and Gold kept the positive play going and won the fourth game 25-23 and the match 3-1.
The Regals continued the day with Carthage. Roberts led the way with 17 kills. She recorded her second double-double in as many games as she added 14 digs.
Dosch was second on the team with nine kills, McKee had eight and Hein, Haddad and Rolfson each had seven. Rolfson was on triple-double watch as she also put up 36 assists and nine digs.
Howard recorded 20 digs for the second straight game to pace the defense.
After Carthage took the first game 25-18, the Regals bounced back in the second. Back-to-back kills by Roberts and Rolfson gave CLU a quick 6-2 lead. The Violet and Gold added to the lead a little bit later with four straight kills and were up 16-10. Daniella Villano had two kills and Roberts and Dosch both added one during the run. CLU kept the distance and took the second set 25-18.
The third game was all Carthage early on as the Lady Reds had 16-12 lead. Four straights point from the Regals tied up the game as McKee and Dosch tallied kills during the run. The score continued to be close and was tied six times between 17-17 and 25-25. The Regals finally got the last two points they needed as Roberts and Rolfson hit back-to-back kills. CLU won 34-32 and took a 2-1 match lead.
Game four was another nail-biter as the score went back and forth. Carthage had an early 9-5 lead, but a four-point run by the Regals tied it up. CLU then took a three-point lead twice, but the Lady Reds answered each time. With the score tied at 19, Trento served an ace to give CLU the lead. Hein then swatted down back-to-back kills and McKee added two more as the Regals won the game 26-24 and the match 3-1.
The Regals are back in action Saturday for day two of the Pacific Coast Classic. Cal Lutheran starts the day with St. Scholastica at 9:30 a.m. and then plays Salisbury at 2:15 p.m.
Box Score:CLU 3, No. 6 JWU 1; CLU 3, No. 14 CC 1
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
