Cal Lutheran women's volleyball lost after holding a two-set lead Friday, Sept. 18, falling to Schreiner in five sets. The Regals dropped the match 20-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-20, 15-11 in the opening round of the 19th annual Cal Lu Fornia Invitational at Gilbert Arena in Thousand Oaks.
The Regals were one point from a sweep. They led the third set 24-22 before the Mountaineers rattled off four straight points to take it 26-24, according to Cal Lutheran athletics. That four-point swing flipped the match.
Cal Lutheran (3-5) built a 7-4 lead in the fourth set. Schreiner answered with a 10-4 closing run to force a fifth set.
In the decider, reserve Reese Balagot came off the bench and helped the Regals grab a 6-4 edge. Schreiner controlled the middle stretch and pulled away for the 15-11 win to complete the reverse sweep.
The collapse echoed a Sept. 5 five-setter against Westminster at the Pacific Coast Classic, where Cal Lutheran rallied from 2-0 down only to fall 11-15 in the fifth. This time the Regals were on the wrong end of the comeback.
Cienna Alvarez led Cal Lutheran with 12 kills and added three blocks and two aces. Senior middle blocker Tarin Rueckert hit a team-best .353 with eight kills and a team-high seven blocks. Fellow senior middle Aby Tibesar and Madeline Magnani each chipped in eight kills, with Magnani adding five blocks.
Setters Makenna Kawamura and Kimmy Wilson both posted double-doubles. Kawamura finished with 25 assists and 12 digs. Wilson added 21 assists and 14 digs.
Keegan Corley anchored the back row with a match-high 27 digs.
The Regals held an 11-2 edge in blocks but were outpaced in kills (68-58), digs (100-86) and total points (77-74) by the Mountaineers (5-2).
All seven teams in the invitational supported Go4theGoal's Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer initiative during September. The Regals wore gold shoelaces throughout the month.
Cal Lutheran returns to action Saturday, Sept. 26, at 4 p.m. at Caltech's Braun Gymnasium in Pasadena.
