THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— Justin Dietrich and Patrick Rowe both tallied 10 kills and the Cal Lutheran men's volleyball team recorded nine total team blocks as the Kingsmen defeated Vassar College in straight sets 25-20, 25-18, 25-23, on Friday night.
It is the third straight sweep, and fourth of the year, as the Kingsmen improve to 5-2. Cal Lutheran controlled every facet of the game, hitting .306, and only committed 10 errors on 72 swings.
The amazing play started on the defense as only one receiving error was committed. The Kingsmen continued that stellar play at the net, out-blocking Vassar 9 to 4.
Four Kingsmen tallied two or more blocks and leading the way was Nick Christy with four block assists. Rowe came up big for the Kingsmen as he tallied three solo blocks to go along with his 10 kills.
Blake Zingerman was next with three block assists and helped lead the attack with 24 assists. Dietrich also added two blocks, but really showed off on the offensive end. He put up 10 kills, which he hit with an attack percentage of .625, and had no errors.
Connor Hinthorn was one dig shy of double-digit digs in back-to-back games as he tallied nine and Andrew Reina was next with five digs and chipped in with seven kills.
The first set was tied 10 times and all the way from 1-1 to 10-10. Cal Lutheran finally got some breathing room later in the set as three straight errors from Vassar put the Kingsmen up 21-17. With CLU up 22-20, Christy swatted down the next kill, and after a Vassar error, Dietrich connected on the final kill.
The Kingsmen carried the momentum into the second set. With CLU up 15-14, the Kingsmen went on a 8-2 run capped off by four straight points. Reina and Rowe both tallied a kill during the run and the space allowed the Kingsmen to take the second set as they looked for the sweep.
Cal Lutheran faced adversity in the third set and were down fast by a score of 7-2. The Kingsmen got four straight points back and made the comeback complete a little bit later as they tied the set at 15.
The Kingsmen found themselves down multiple times after that, 18-16 and 21-19, but always fought back. Down 21-19, CLU scored three straight points, two via kills from Dietrich and Hinthorn. With the score tied at 23, Rowe swatted down another kill and a Vassar error clinched the match for Cal Lutheran.
The Kingsmen wrap up the CLU Invitational on Saturday in the nightcap. Cal Lutheran takes on No. 13 New York U. at 6:30 p.m. in Soiland.
Box Score: CLU 3, VC 0
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
