ORANGE, Calif.— Maci Haddad and Samantha Landrum tallied 15 kills each while Carly Rose Howard recorded 29 digs, but it wasn't enough as Cal Lutheran women's volleyball lost a five-set heartbreaker to the Chapman Panthers 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 14-25, 9-15 on Thursday night in the semifinals of the SCIAC Tournament.
The Regals now have a record of 17-11 and their NCAA Tournament hopes rest in the hands of a committee. Howard, the lone senior, showed off a brilliant display of defense as her 29 digs were the third highest she has tallied all season long. She finished her career with 1,129 digs which is the seventh most in program history.
Haddad was impressive as she hit with an attack percentage of .400 and she added four total blocks. Morgan Given was the third Regal with double-digit kills and added 11 with five digs and four total blocks.
Jennifer Kent put up a double-double with 23 assists and 11 digs. Jenna Jones split time with Kent at the setter position and recorded 25 assists and nine digs.
After Howard's 29 digs, Jojo MacArthur was next with 18 and Sarah Hein added 17. Mackenzie Martinez led the defense with a match-high eight total blocks.
The first set featured five ties early on before Chapman took a 12-9 lead after scoring four straight points. Cal Lutheran fired back with a run of its own and scored five straight to snag the lead. Haddad contributed on three straight points to start the run with a solo block, a block assist with Hein and a kill. The lead would bounce back and forth over the next few plays before being tied at 18.
The Regals scored the next four points as Landrum swatted down a kill, Given and Martinez combined for a block and Kent served an ace. CLU used that run to win the first set 25-20, but CU fought back in the second set and tied the match as they won 23-25.
The third set continued to be as close as the first two as Cal Lutheran was down 16-17. The Regals strung together a run of eight points as they got to set point. CLU controlled all facets during the run as they scored by kills, blocks and aces and won 25-18. CU fired right back and won the fourth set 25-14 as they forced a decisive fifth set.
Cal Lutheran jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the fifth as Haddad tallied two kills and Landrum had one. The Panthers then took their lead and were up 8-5 before the Regals made their small comeback and only trailed 9-10. That was as close as CLU would get as Chapman won the fifth set 15-9, the match 3-2 and advanced to the SCIAC Tournament final.
An NCAA committee will determine if CLU gets an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Monday, Nov. 11, at 9:30 a.m. PST.
Box Score: CU 3, CLU 2
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
