The California Baptist University women’s volleyball team had their last home game for the 2010 season. The No. 6 Lancers came up short on Nov. 9th as they battled it out against No. 11 Concordia. Now, with a standing overall 28-5 record, they will be playing on the road for the remainder of the season.
The competition was neck and neck, but the Lancers came up short, falling 3-2 to the Eagles in the Van Dyne Gymnasium.
“I don’t know what happened. We just couldn’t get it together,” Linjun Ji said. “It’s frustrating because I know we are a better team, we just couldn’t pull it together.”
The girls won the first match, making it seem that is was going to be another epic sweep like the previous one against Fresno Pacific University. That quickly changed as Concordia went on to win the next two sets. Those wins must have been a wake up call for the girls and they realized they needed to step their game up, winning with a comfortable score of 15-25.
In the fifth set CBU fell behind early, but then went on to tying the score at 12-12. Out of the timeout a Lancer error gave the Eagles the advantedge, but quickly ended with a kill of their own to give Concordia match point. A final Lancer error on a kill attempt that sailed just long, gave Concordia the match.
It was a bittersweet night for CBU’s lone senior, Karli Oliver, who has played four years for the Lancers.
“It’s just crazy that I have played on this team for all four years,” Oliver said. “It’s a huge accomplishment to be part of a college team for that long. It’s a bummer we couldn’t pull through with a win for my last home game, but I’m hoping our match against Hope International will be a good rebound.”
The women’s volleyball team has already made quite a name for themselves, so this loss might be exactly what they need to push for the postseason.
The women’s volleyball team has definitely been exciting from the fan’s side as well as the player’s side.
Sammy Ramos, a CBU Crazie said, “It’s been a privilege to motivate and encourage the girls. They have made it this far and I’m glad I was here at their last home game to cheer them on.”
With the loss CBU falls to 28-5 overall, 15-4 GSAC, while Concordia improves to 22-7, 13-6. Within the year they have improved enormously and worked extremely hard this entire season. They aren’t going to be satisfied with just making it to the postseason, they have the determination to make it to the national championships.
