THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Cal Lutheran Regals and the Chapman Panthers came into their Friday night matchup with two of the top-four records in the SCIAC. A low-percentage attacking night for the Regals allowed the Panthers to steal the match in Gilbert Arena with a score of 3-1.
Cal Lutheran's four-game win streak came to an end in the loss. The Regals dropped to 10-7 and 4-2 in conference. Chapman is now 14-2 overall and 5-1 in SCIAC play.
Amanda Roberts tallied a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs. She is six kills away from 10th all-time in Regals history for a career. After the 11 digs tonight, she now has the seventh-most in CLU history for a career with 1,063.
Amy McKee and Maci Haddad both added double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Sarah Hein was next with seven.
Steph Rolfson picked up 43 assists on the night and added four digs, three total blocks and two kills.
Hein led the defense with 20 kills and Carly Rose Howard added 11 more. Haddad was big at the net and tallied six total blocks, two of which were solo blocks.
Cal Lutheran struggled to find their touch and recorded a hitting percentage of .146. Chapman wasn't much better as they tallied .158. The big difference was digs. The Chapman defenders had a stellar night and totaled 78 digs compared to CLU's 57.
The Regals opened the first set on a 4-0 run. Haddad and McKee tallied a kill, McKee served an ace and Haddad and Rolfson combined for a block assist. For every run Cal Lutheran made, Chapman was there with one of their own. Chapman finally found themselves up 22-20, which forced Cal Lutheran to take a timeout. Roberts stopped a four-point Panthers run with a powerful kill.
Paris Dosch and McKee kept the momentum going as they combined for a block assist. The Regals kept the points coming as Roberts dove for an amazing dig, which Rolfson then set up for Dosch who swatted down the kill. CLU tied the set at 23, but the Panthers scored the last two points and took the set 25-23.
Set two continued to be just as close. With the score tied at 7, Dosch and Hein combined for a block assist. After a Chapman error, Rolfson made 10-7 with a kill of her own. A few plays later, CLU went on a 4-0 run as Chapman took a timeout. Haddad and McKee recorded a block, and McKee went on to tally an ace and a kill. The Regals were up 13-9 and kept that distance the rest of the way. Cal Lutheran won the set 25-17 and tied the match at 1.
The Regals jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set three. Chapman continued to fight back and the set was tied at 7. The Panthers then took the lead during the next set of plays and went up 17-13. Chapman didn't let up and won the third set 25-17 and took a 2-1 match lead.
Not much changed in the fourth set as the teams went back-and-forth exchanging points. With the score tied at 14, Roberts swatted down a big kill. Chapman was there with three points of their own and took back the lead at 17-15.
The Panthers scored five of the next six points in all and took a 19-16 lead. After back-to-back kills from Haddad and Roberts, CLU only trailed 21-20. Roberts continued her hot hitting and tied the game on the very next point. The errors were a problem down the stretch for CLU as the Panthers won the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
Cal Lutheran looks to get back to its winning ways Saturday afternoon. The Regals travel to Claremont, Calif., and will take on the Sagehens from Pomona-Pitzer at 4 p.m.
Box Score: CU 3, CLU 1
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
