Cal Lutheran Vs. Puget Sound Recap
Cal Lutheran opened NCAA West Regional play in impressive fashion with a three-set sweep over Puget Sound by scores of 25-23, 25-19, 25-16 in first round action Thursday at Frantz Athletic Court on the campus of the University of La Verne.
With the win the Regals (25-6), ranked #14 in the latest AVCA Division III Poll, advanced to the region semifinals against #9 Cal State East Bay on Friday. Puget Sound, the defending West Region champion, ended its season at 17-8.
The Regals recovered from a 16-11 deficit in the first game to forge a 17-17 tie before taking a 23-20 advantage en route to a 1-0 lead. Erin Exline posted 5 kills for CLU in the opening stanza. Cal Lutheran hit .667 (15 K, 1 E, 21 TA) in the second set to pull away for a 2-0 set cushion. CLU finished off the Loggers by limiting UPS to a -.061 hitting percentage in the third set.
CLU hit .295 for the contest and held UPS to a .183 clip in the
sweep. Additionally, the Regals recorded 6 blocks despite a
40-30 deficit to the Loggers in digs. Cal Lutheran also
totaled 11 service aces compared to 1 for the Loggers.
A trio of Regals tallied double-digits in kills led by Allison Kerr with 12. Kerr hit .588 on the night with 2 blocks. Summer Plante-Newman and Exline contributed 10 kills each. Setter Lindsey Benson collected a match-high 30 assists.
Lindsey Denman paced Puget Sound with 8 kills while Emma Bryant and Brynn Blickenstaff each tallied 7 kills in the defeat.
The win was Cal Lutheran first-ever triumph against Puget Sound as UPS had won the previous three meetings in the series.
