CLAREMONT, Calif. — California Lutheran University women's volleyball gave top-seed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps a scare, but the Athenas escaped with a 3-1 win in the semifinals of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament on Thursday night.
The Regals had the No. 3 ranked team in the nation on the ropes from the very beginning as Cal Lutheran took the first set 25-19. The Athenas bounced back in the second, but just barely, as CMS won 25-23. CMS carried that momentum to the third set and had a 2-1 lead after winning 25-18. The Regals put up a fight, but CMS won the fourth set 25-17 and the match 3-1.
Maci Haddad had a game, recording a match-high 19 kills with an impressive .456 hitting percentage. She arguably looked like the best player on the court, adding four total blocks.
Kira Mortensen and Sophia Muller were both next with eight kills and Kennedy Crane added six more.
The defense showed up to test the Athenas and was led by Isabella Wade's 18 digs. Three more Regals had double-digit digs as Julia Trento tallied 16 with Muller and Jenna Jones both having 12.
Tess Holbert directed the offense, putting her teammates in great positions. She tallied 40 assists and added eight digs, two kills and two blocks.
In the first set, CMS jumped out to a 3-1 lead. Cal Lutheran fought back and kept it close against top-seeded CMS. With the Athenas up 11-7, the Regals scored four straight points to tie the set. Muller recorded two kills and Haddad and Mortenson both added one. With the score then tied at 13, CMS scored three straight as Cal Lutheran called a timeout. The Regals came out of the timeout and brought it all the way back, eventually taking the lead at 20-19, after three straight kills from Haddad. Cal Lutheran ended the first with nine straight points to take the early lead in the match.
The top-seeded team picked it up in the second set, taking an early 8-3 lead. Cal Lutheran closed the gap, cutting the score to 10-8, but CMS opened it back up at 16-11. Haddad continued to be on a roll, swatting down back-to-back kills, and the Regals trailed 19-17. Haddad tied the score at 23, but CMS scored the next two sets and claimed the second set. Through two sets, Haddad had 15 kills, hitting with a .538 clip.
The third set continued to be close and was tied three times early on. With the score knotted at 11, the Athenas scored four straight to take the lead. The Regals would not back down, going on a 4-1 run, and cut the lead down to 17-16. The third set continued to be a game of runs as CMS scored three straight and pushed their lead back to four. The Stags hung on and claimed the third set 25-18.
Cal Lutheran continued to give CMS all it could handle in the fourth set and was up 7-4 after scoring four straight points. The teams exchanged points for the next little bit and the score was eventually tied at 12. The Stags turned in in the middle of the set, going on a 6-1 run, and went up 16-13. CMS held on the rest of the way winning the fourth set and the match.
The Regals hopes of a SCIAC championship came up just short, as they battled to the very end. The team will look to next year as they return a good core.
Box Score: CMS 3, CLU 1
CLU Instagram: CLUSports
Sport IG: regals_volleyball
CLU Twitter: CLUSports
Sport Twitter: CLUwVolleyball
CLU Facebook: CLUSports
Hashtags: #clusports #ownthethrone #goregals #gokingsmen #theSCIAC #ncaad3
Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director