Cal Lutheran's women's volleyball team outplayed Dubuque in nearly every statistical category Friday, Sept. 11, and still lost.
The Regals fell 3-2 to the Spartans in the opening match of the KTIS Classic at Ericksen Center in St. Paul, Minn. They bounced back with a 3-0 sweep of Concordia College to split the day and move to 2-1 on the season.
Against Dubuque, Cal Lutheran recorded more kills (58-50), more assists (54-48) and more digs (70-66) than the Spartans. The difference came at the service line. Dubuque hammered 17 aces to Cal Lutheran's five, disrupting the Regals' passing lanes throughout the match.
Cienna Alvarez led the Regals with 15 kills. Kaylee Clayton added 12, Aby Tibesar posted eight kills and five blocks, and Madeline Magnani hit .353 with seven kills. Setter Makenna Kawamura ran the offense with 29 assists and 14 digs. Keegan Corley anchored the back row with a team-high 20 digs.
Cal Lutheran rallied from a 13-4 deficit in the third set to win 27-25 and take a 2-1 match lead. But Dubuque forced a fifth set and closed on a 6-2 run from a 9-9 tie to win 15-11. Set scores from Cal Lutheran's perspective: 17-25, 25-21, 27-25, 18-25, 11-15.
Dubuque's Delainey Winkel led all players with 21 kills on .347 hitting, according to the Spartans' athletics site. Taylor Bechen and Chloe Reiser each served five aces.
The Regals regrouped against Concordia, sweeping 25-22, 25-19, 25-17. Cal Lutheran held the Cobbers to a .079 hitting percentage while hitting .176 itself.
Emily Ford paced the attack with 10 kills on a .400 clip. Tarin Rueckert added six kills, and Clayton led the team with four aces. Freshman setter Kimmy Wilson distributed a team-high 16 assists. Corley again led the defense with 18 digs.
Cal Lutheran built a 14-4 lead in the second set before Concordia ripped off an 11-1 run to tie it at 15. The Regals steadied and closed the set 25-19, then pulled away in the third for the sweep.
Cal Lutheran closes the KTIS Classic against tournament host University of Northwestern-St. Paul on Saturday, Sept. 12, at 9 a.m. PT at Ericksen Center. The Regals return home to Gilbert Arena in Thousand Oaks on Thursday, Sept. 17, against Simpson University.
