SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Cal Lutheran men's volleyball swept Ill. Wesleyan and Edgewood on day one of the UC Santa Cruz Slug Slam Tournament on Saturday. The Kingsmen improved to 3-2 on the year.
Cal Lutheran vs. Ill. Wesleyan (25-11, 25-22, 25-18)
The Kingsmen throttled the Titans in the first set and never looked back. With Cal Lutheran up 7-5, the Kingsmen rattled off six straight points and took a commanding lead. After the Titans stopped the run, the Kingsmen scored four more straight points and coasted to a 1-0 match lead.
Cal Lutheran picked up in the second set right where they left off in the first. The Kingsmen went on an 8-2 run and were up big. The Titans fought back and made a comeback as they tied the set at 20. Noah Rigo, Jake Tucker and Logan Marks then swatted down back-to-back-to-back kills and the Kingsmen went onto win the second set.
The third set was close in the middle and was tied up at 13-13. The Kingsmen then scored five of the next six points and looked to sweep. Cal Lutheran did just that, earning their first sweep of the season.
Ben Weber led the way with 10 kills and hit with an impressive .444 attack percentage. Jake Tucker was next with eight kills and Rigo and L. Marks had four each. Taylor Marks recorded his second double-double of the season with 22 assists and 10 digs. Sean Fitzpatrick was next with nine digs and Weber had seven.
Cal Lutheran vs. Edgewood (25-23, 25-18, 25-18)
The Kingsmen outhit the Lions with an attack percentage of .217 to .114. Edgewood put Cal Lutheran to the test in the first set. With the score knotted up at 22, the Kingsmen made their move. Weber recorded a kill and Borys Horiuk and Weber combined for a block. After Edgewood got a point back, Weber ended the set with a kill.
Cal Lutheran used big runs in the second and third sets and never looked back. The Kingsmen went up 14-6 in the second set and 19-9 in the third as they coasted through both and picked up their second straight sweep.
Weber continued his tear and recorded 16 kills with an attack percentage of .538. T. Marks kept the offense moving with 25 assists, Weber served three aces, Fitzpatrick had the most digs with eight and Horiuk had two block assists.
The Kingsmen look to continue their winning streak on Saturday with North Park at 8:30 a.m. and Fotnboone at 1:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 3, IW 0; CLU 3, EDG 0
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