CLAREMONT, Calif.— The Cal Lutheran women's volleyball team came out on fire for day one of the Pacific Coast Classic as the Regals swept Augsburg and Wentworth Friday afternoon.
CLU took down Augsburg, the first match of the day, with every set being very close, as the scores were 25-21, 25-22, 25-23. Cal Lutheran continued its strong play against Wentworth and shut down the Leopards 25-14, 25-15, 25-17.
Game One - CLU 3, AU 0
Sophomore Jojo MacArthur tallied a career-high 14 kills, the most she had last year in a game was 12, and added 10 digs for her second career double-double. Junior Jennifer Kent added the second double-double of the match as she kept the offense moving with 27 assists and was big on the defensive end with 12 digs. Kent and MacArthur tied for the team lead with two service aces. Senior Carly Rose Howard is libero for the second consecutive season and came up with 15 digs.
The Regals jumped out to an early lead in the first set as MacArthur connected on three kills and Hein added two more. CLU added to their run and scored eight of the next nine points with Mackenzie Martinez swatting down the 10th Regals' point compared to Augsburg's 3. The Auggies fought back and cut the lead to one, 17-16, but Cal Lutheran was there with an answer, scoring the next six of seven points, and claimed the first set 25-21.
The next set remained just as close, as CLU pulled out the set, 25-22, and had a 2-0 match lead. In the third set, the Regals found themselves down 21-15. The Violet and Gold showed resilience, rattling off six straight points to tie the game, as MacArthur, Hein and Morgan Given each recorded a kill. Hein ended the game a few minutes later, swatting down a kill, and the Regals won the set 25-23 and their first match of the year, 3-0. Getting their first collegiate action for the Regals was freshmen Kristine Fimlaid, Given and Siena McCollum.
Game Two – CLU 3, WC 0
MacArthur and Hein led the Regals in kills for the second straight game and tallied eight apiece. The rest of the offense was spread around as Maci Haddad recorded seven kills and McCollum had six more. MacArthur had a hitting percentage of .348 and Haddad had a clip of .308. Kent and Jenna Jones, playing in her first collegiate game, split time at the setter position and dished out 20 and 10 assists, respectively. Defensively, Hein recorded a team-high 13 digs, Howard added 10 more and Haddad was strong at the net with three total blocks.
The first set went back-and-forth over the first few minutes with CLU having the early 6-5 lead. Cal Lutheran then turned it on, scoring the next five points to take an 11-5 lead, with an ace from Martinez and kills from Haddad and Hein. The Regals kept the points coming in bunches and took the first 25-14.
Wentworth bounced back at the beginning of the second set and had a 6-4 lead. Cal Lutheran answered, scoring four straight, as they flipped the script and took the two-point lead. The Regals kept the lead, eventually going up by seven, and had a 20-13 lead. CLU won the second set 25-14 and were up two sets to none in the match. The Regals kept up the tough play as they rolled through the third set, winning 25-17 , and swept the Leopards.
The Regals continue the Pacific Coast Classic on Saturday and will take on Wis.-Platteville at 9:30 a.m. and St. Olaf at 1:45 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 3, AU 0; CLU 3, WC 0
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director