THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The California Lutheran University women's volleyball team won its fifth straight match and defeated the University of California at Santa Cruz 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-23) Saturday evening despite a good effort from the Banana Slugs.
Santa Cruz had a rocky start giving the Regals the first two points of the game off of a service error and then a net violation. They continued to struggle as they spiked one into the net and stepped over the line on the two following points. The Regals had their fair share of miss-hits as well, and that seemed to spark some extra energy for the Banana Slugs. Krysti Photias had a service ace, which brought UCSC within one point. However, it was UCSC mistakes that gave CLU the first set win (25-20).
Despite the Banana Slugs taking the first point, the Regals bounced back to take a 5-1 lead. UCSC refused to back down though forcing several ties. Hope Stewart delivered two kills in a row to give the Regals a two point lead, but once again the Banana Slugs found a way to tie it up. Amanda Roberts closed out the second set with several kills at the end.
Amy McKee started the third set off strong earning two of the Regals of their first three points. Jennifer Kent came in off the bench to serve for CLU, and she landed the first one in for an ace. The Banana Slugs continued to hurt themselves with errors throughout the match. Jamie Smith added an ace, which seemed to be the nail in the coffin. CLU relied on the bench to finish off the match, and they were able to outlast the Banana Slugs for a 25-22 win. Sarah Hein spiked the last point for the Regals.
Roberts led the Regals in kills with a total of 10. She also contributed six digs. Smith had 16 assists, a service ace and four digs. Carly Rose Howard and McKee finished with six kills apiece, and Howard added eight digs.
Erica Allen and Shania Andrews led UCSC with seven kills each, while Andrews also added 10 digs. Photias finished with 20 assists and five digs.
The Regals (13-10, 8-5 SCIAC) travel to the University of Redlands Tuesday evening for a 7 p.m. match. CLU won 3-1 in the first meeting between the two teams. The next and final home game of the regular season schedule will take place on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 3, UCSC 0
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Assistant Sports Information Director / Makenna Pellerin (Sports Information Intern)
