THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— The Cal Lutheran women's volleyball team came up just short in both matches on Saturday as the Regals fell to Mary Hardin-Baylor (20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 15-8) and Clarkson (26-24, 25-22, 27-29, 16-25, 12-15) 3-2. The games concluded the Cal Lu Fornia two-day tournament which was played in Gilbert Arena and Soiland Recreation Center. 

The Regals are 6-2 on the season. Mary Hardin-Baylor is now 4-1 and Clarkson improved to 4-2. Cal Lutheran played in its first five set matches of the season.

Against Mary Hardin-Baylor, Amanda Roberts swatted down a match-high 23 kills. She recorded her third double-double of the year as she added 13 digs. 

It was a career day for a few Regals as they went all five sets against the Cru. Carly Rose Howard was tremendous defensively and tallied a career-high 28 digs. Steph Rolfson dished out a career-high 52 assists and put up her second double-double with 11 digs. 

Amy McKee tied her career-high with 12 kills. She added seven digs, five block assists and one service ace. Hannah Cantrell was big defensively and added a career-high four block assists. 

The first set went to Mary Hardin-Baylor with a score of 25-20. The Regals would bounce back in the second. With CLU up 14-12 in the second set, Roberts converted back-to-back kills to increase the lead to four. The Cru got back into the game and took a 22-20 lead. The Regals scored four straight points and went on to win the set 25-23. Roberts, Rolfson and McKee each had a kill and Cantrell and Daniella Villano combined for a block assist. 

The third set was just as close with the scores just the opposite as the Cru won set three 25-23. The fourth set was just as competitive. With the Regals down 14-9, they scored eight straight points and took a 17-14 lead. Maci Haddad had two kills during the run and Sarah Hein added two service aces. CLU held the lead and evened the match at 2-2 as the Regals won the set 25-21. 

With the fifth and final set tied at 4, Mary Hardin-Baylor scored four straight points and took the lead. The Regals fought hard, but eventually fell 15-7 and lost the match 3-2. 

In the second match of the day, the Regals took on Clarkson. Paris Dosch led Cal Lutheran with 15 kills and Madison Karcich joined her in double-digit kills with 11. Hein was next with nine kills and Jordan MacArthur swatted down eight. Karcich recorded her first career double-double as she led the team with 24 digs.

Jennifer Kent moved the ball around and recorded a career-high 47 assists. She recorded a double-double with 13 digs. 

Howard had 20 digs for the defense. CJ O'Brien, Hein and MacArthur all recorded 16. 

Set one was close early on until Cal Lutheran took a 15-10 lead. Clarkson eventually tied up the set at 17 and then went on to take a 24-21 lead. The Regals accepted the call and scored the next five points to claim the first set at 26-24. Freshman scored four of the final five points as Madison Karcich had two kills and Kiana Pelton had one. Samantha Landrum and Kiana Pelton put the finishing touches on the set as they combined for a block. 

Set two remained just as close as the first one. With the score tied at 22, it was the Regals with the answer again. Two errors by Clarkson and a kill by Dosch gave CLU the 25-22 win. Clarkson took the next two sets and forced a fifth set. CU won the third set 29-27 and the fourth 25-16. In the fifth set, Clarkson was able to battle back and stole the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

The Regals return home for their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Wednesday. Cal Lutheran host La Verne at 7 p.m. in Gilbert Arena. 

Box Score:CLU 2, MHB 3; CLU 2, CU 3
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director