DAVENPORT, Iowa --- No. 1 California Baptist University secured a spot in the NAIA National Invitational Championship match for the eighth-straight year, with a 3-1 (25-13, 19-25, 28-26, 27-25) victory over No. 4 Park (Mo.) Friday night.
Even without the ferocity of a home crowd facing them, the Lancers found themselves locked in a four-set thriller, as each team traded the momentum back and forth.
“This year the tournament has been a battle, whereas last year we had a little easier road,” said Head Coach Ryan McGuyre. “I am so impressed with the character of our guys. Facing the adversity last night and then winning game three here to get this match back in our control was huge. The guys showed great composure and we’re thrilled to be heading to the finals.”
The Lancers cruised through the opening set, posting 14 kills on a .478 hitting percentage en route to a 25-13 win.
Park was far from ready to roll over, coming back to hand the Lancers a 25-19 beating. The Pirates responded immediately after their first set shellacking, opening on a 5-1 run. Park would go up by as much as eight in the set, never letting the Lancers get any closer than two points.
The Pirates carried their momentum into the crucial third set and jumped out to an early 8-3 lead.
CBU would slowly chip away at the Pirate advantage, finally drawing close with a three-point run capped by a monster blast off the Park block by Sebastien Steigmeier. The teams traded points until a Pirate service error evened the match at 22-22.
Park rallied for two-straight points, though, and sat on set point with a 24-22 advantage. Levi Cabral stepped up for yet another clutch play this tournament, ripping a ball over the Pirate block to pull CBU to within one. A Park error again knotted the set at 24-24.
Out of a Park timeout, the teams traded points, with both the third set and the ever crucial momentum up for grabs on every point.
CBU finally caught a break when a bad set gave the defending champs a 27-26 lead. Cabral served the next ball in and on the Park attack Joseph Fitzpatrick and Aaron McCalmont stepped up for a huge block, giving CBU a 2-1 advantage in the match.
“We were playing from behind almost that whole game in that third set,” said McGuyre. “When you’re behind like that it’s tempting to feel the pressure to do more and try to come back, but it’s really just one point at a time. The guys showed a ton of composure making a ton of championship caliber plays down the stretch.”
Cabral opened the fourth set serving three-straight aces, jumpstarting the Lancers to a 6-1 advantage.
This time it was Parks turn to make a run from behind, taking a page out of the Lancers book by chipping away at the CBU lead until they pulled even at 22-22. A second straight error gave the Pirates their first lead of the game and prompted McGuyre to call a timeout.
Right on time Cabral ripped a kill and the Pirates committed their tenth error of the match to put CBU back in the driver’s seat at 24-23.
Park fought off match point twice, but after Steigmeier ripped a ball off the park block, Cabral laced a serve right down the center of the court for the final point of the night.
“We had a lot of guys step up big tonight,” said McGuyre “Levi didn’t have his best night, but he came up clutch when we needed him. Blair (Penner) was willing us along all night. Sebastien was key in the third set when we needed him to stay aggressive and Aaron was so steady for us tonight. Aaron was ready to shine whenever we needed him, doing a lot of little things tonight that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”
For the second-straight match, Cabral led the Lancers with 15 kills. Steigmeier posted 10 kills and led the team with eight digs, while McCalmont hit .389 en route to nine kills. Penner notched a match-high 41 assists.
Park’s Zach Penolio led all players with 16 kills on the night.
The Pirates out-hit the Lancers .333-.274 and the two team’s each posted seven blocks. A key stat for CBU was its seven service aces to just 14 service errors.
The Lancers move on to face host and fourth-seed St. Ambrose in the championship match Saturday at 7 p.m. St. Ambrose battled through a five-set thriller with No. 2 Lindenwood following the Lancers’ semifinal match Friday night to make their first ever final.
“This is where we expected to be, but it has been tough getting here,” said McGuyre. “We said before we left that every year someone wins the national championship, but not every year does someone go back-to-back. When you’re expected to win you get everyone’s best shot and that makes it difficult. As long as we just keep doing what we have been, we are ready to respond to whatever comes at us.”
The Lancers are eying their eighth NAIA title in their final season in the association. CBU won four-straight between 2004-07 and are the only program to ever win consecutive titles.
Even without the ferocity of a home crowd facing them, the Lancers found themselves locked in a four-set thriller, as each team traded the momentum back and forth.
“This year the tournament has been a battle, whereas last year we had a little easier road,” said Head Coach Ryan McGuyre. “I am so impressed with the character of our guys. Facing the adversity last night and then winning game three here to get this match back in our control was huge. The guys showed great composure and we’re thrilled to be heading to the finals.”
The Lancers cruised through the opening set, posting 14 kills on a .478 hitting percentage en route to a 25-13 win.
Park was far from ready to roll over, coming back to hand the Lancers a 25-19 beating. The Pirates responded immediately after their first set shellacking, opening on a 5-1 run. Park would go up by as much as eight in the set, never letting the Lancers get any closer than two points.
The Pirates carried their momentum into the crucial third set and jumped out to an early 8-3 lead.
CBU would slowly chip away at the Pirate advantage, finally drawing close with a three-point run capped by a monster blast off the Park block by Sebastien Steigmeier. The teams traded points until a Pirate service error evened the match at 22-22.
Park rallied for two-straight points, though, and sat on set point with a 24-22 advantage. Levi Cabral stepped up for yet another clutch play this tournament, ripping a ball over the Pirate block to pull CBU to within one. A Park error again knotted the set at 24-24.
Out of a Park timeout, the teams traded points, with both the third set and the ever crucial momentum up for grabs on every point.
CBU finally caught a break when a bad set gave the defending champs a 27-26 lead. Cabral served the next ball in and on the Park attack Joseph Fitzpatrick and Aaron McCalmont stepped up for a huge block, giving CBU a 2-1 advantage in the match.
“We were playing from behind almost that whole game in that third set,” said McGuyre. “When you’re behind like that it’s tempting to feel the pressure to do more and try to come back, but it’s really just one point at a time. The guys showed a ton of composure making a ton of championship caliber plays down the stretch.”
Cabral opened the fourth set serving three-straight aces, jumpstarting the Lancers to a 6-1 advantage.
This time it was Parks turn to make a run from behind, taking a page out of the Lancers book by chipping away at the CBU lead until they pulled even at 22-22. A second straight error gave the Pirates their first lead of the game and prompted McGuyre to call a timeout.
Right on time Cabral ripped a kill and the Pirates committed their tenth error of the match to put CBU back in the driver’s seat at 24-23.
Park fought off match point twice, but after Steigmeier ripped a ball off the park block, Cabral laced a serve right down the center of the court for the final point of the night.
“We had a lot of guys step up big tonight,” said McGuyre “Levi didn’t have his best night, but he came up clutch when we needed him. Blair (Penner) was willing us along all night. Sebastien was key in the third set when we needed him to stay aggressive and Aaron was so steady for us tonight. Aaron was ready to shine whenever we needed him, doing a lot of little things tonight that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”
For the second-straight match, Cabral led the Lancers with 15 kills. Steigmeier posted 10 kills and led the team with eight digs, while McCalmont hit .389 en route to nine kills. Penner notched a match-high 41 assists.
Park’s Zach Penolio led all players with 16 kills on the night.
The Pirates out-hit the Lancers .333-.274 and the two team’s each posted seven blocks. A key stat for CBU was its seven service aces to just 14 service errors.
The Lancers move on to face host and fourth-seed St. Ambrose in the championship match Saturday at 7 p.m. St. Ambrose battled through a five-set thriller with No. 2 Lindenwood following the Lancers’ semifinal match Friday night to make their first ever final.
“This is where we expected to be, but it has been tough getting here,” said McGuyre. “We said before we left that every year someone wins the national championship, but not every year does someone go back-to-back. When you’re expected to win you get everyone’s best shot and that makes it difficult. As long as we just keep doing what we have been, we are ready to respond to whatever comes at us.”
The Lancers are eying their eighth NAIA title in their final season in the association. CBU won four-straight between 2004-07 and are the only program to ever win consecutive titles.
