THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The California Lutheran University women's volleyball team notched an impressive 3-1 win over La Verne behind Sarah Hein's big double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs while Carly Rose Howard showed off some great defense, notching 26 digs Friday night at Gilbert Arena.
Maci Haddad was stellar at the net, notching 14 kills and four blocks on the night. Christina Williams was also great at the net, racking up nine kills and six blocks.
The Regals got off to a fast start, taking the first set 25-18. Haddad began her dominance with five first-set kills. Williams and Morgan Given also made their presence felt at the net totaling three blocks apiece in the opening set.
The visitors replied with a fast start to the second set, taking a commanding 8-2 lead to force a timeout and put the Regals on their heels. CLU would recover, however, cutting the deficit to four points to make it 12-8. La Verne managed to regain control of the set to pull ahead 17-12 and force another Cal Lutheran timeout. In what proved to be a back-and-forth set, kills from Mackenzie Martinez and Hein would fuel another comeback for the hosts, tying the score at 20-20 late in game two. After a fantastic block by Given and Haddad, a kill from Jojo MacArthur would clinch a 25-23 set victory.
La Verne started quickly yet again in set number three, getting out to a 9-3 lead to take control and force another Cal Lutheran timeout. But the Regals would once again show their resilience, drawing within one point (16-15) to force a timeout from the Leopards. Despite the fight from the Regals, La Verne would force a fourth set and take it 25-17.
Set four would be neck-and-neck from the start, as the teams would battle to 8-8 before a kill from Given and a block from Haddad gave the Regals a two-point cushion. The Leopards would respond to knot it up at 14-14 and eventually take a two-point lead of their own. After battling back to tie the score 20-20, CLU would close out the match 25-23 with a kill from Hein and a block from Williams to seal the 3-1 victory.
Cal Lutheran continues SCIAC play when they head back on the road to face Whittier Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.
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Release by Jeff Rebello, Assistant Sports Information Director