RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- In a battle of the top two teams in the NAIA, No. 1 California Baptist University squeaked out a 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-10) over No. 2 Lindenwood Thursday night.
The Lancers overcame a poor service night and a 2-1 deficit, to score the five set win, getting a big night from Levi Cabral and several clutch plays down the stretch.
“This was not our best match,” said Head Coach Ryan McGuyre. “We did well in a lot of areas, but were giving the match away at the service line. We were able to stop them offensively and hold them to a low percentage.”
CBU hit .353 to just .145 for the Lions. The Lancers also held a 14.5 to 7 edge in total blocks and a 62-44 edge in kills. CBU committed 29 service errors, though, while Lindenwood committed 17.
“It’s almost an entire game that we gave away in service errors, but still we were able to get the win,” said McGuyre. “Aaron McCalmont had a big night passing and making some key digs for us. Levi was on fire early, but we should have gotten him the ball more.”
Sensing defeat after falling behind 2-1, the Lancers scorched 14 kills on a .370 hitting percentage and recorded a match-high 6.5 blocks to take a 25-19 win, and force a decisive game five.
The Lancers fell behind to open the fifth set and as the teams switched sides Lindenwood held an 8-6 lead.
With defeat again looming, Sebastien Steigmeier smashed a ball off the Lion block and Cabral served an ace to even the game. After an error gave the Lancers the lead, the Lions called a timeout. Two more errors out of the timeout capped a five-point run for CBU and gave the Lancers an 11-8 lead.
The Lancers held their advantage down the stretch to get the 15-10 win.
“There were some big plays down the stretch,” said McGuyre. “Matthew Walsh had a huge dig during the run that really helped and we were finally serving the ball in.”
Cabral led all players with 21 kills and recorded a .385 hitting percentage. McCalmont hit .450 on the match with 12 kills. Joseph Fitzpatrick posted six blocking assists and two solo blocks. McCalmont and Mike MacNeill led the team with 11 digs each.
CBU ends the Lions’ 10-match winning streak with the victory and drop Lindenwood to 12-6 on the season. The Lancers improve to 12-5.
The two teams will meet again tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m.
The Lancers overcame a poor service night and a 2-1 deficit, to score the five set win, getting a big night from Levi Cabral and several clutch plays down the stretch.
“This was not our best match,” said Head Coach Ryan McGuyre. “We did well in a lot of areas, but were giving the match away at the service line. We were able to stop them offensively and hold them to a low percentage.”
CBU hit .353 to just .145 for the Lions. The Lancers also held a 14.5 to 7 edge in total blocks and a 62-44 edge in kills. CBU committed 29 service errors, though, while Lindenwood committed 17.
“It’s almost an entire game that we gave away in service errors, but still we were able to get the win,” said McGuyre. “Aaron McCalmont had a big night passing and making some key digs for us. Levi was on fire early, but we should have gotten him the ball more.”
Sensing defeat after falling behind 2-1, the Lancers scorched 14 kills on a .370 hitting percentage and recorded a match-high 6.5 blocks to take a 25-19 win, and force a decisive game five.
The Lancers fell behind to open the fifth set and as the teams switched sides Lindenwood held an 8-6 lead.
With defeat again looming, Sebastien Steigmeier smashed a ball off the Lion block and Cabral served an ace to even the game. After an error gave the Lancers the lead, the Lions called a timeout. Two more errors out of the timeout capped a five-point run for CBU and gave the Lancers an 11-8 lead.
The Lancers held their advantage down the stretch to get the 15-10 win.
“There were some big plays down the stretch,” said McGuyre. “Matthew Walsh had a huge dig during the run that really helped and we were finally serving the ball in.”
Cabral led all players with 21 kills and recorded a .385 hitting percentage. McCalmont hit .450 on the match with 12 kills. Joseph Fitzpatrick posted six blocking assists and two solo blocks. McCalmont and Mike MacNeill led the team with 11 digs each.
CBU ends the Lions’ 10-match winning streak with the victory and drop Lindenwood to 12-6 on the season. The Lancers improve to 12-5.
The two teams will meet again tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m.
