CLU Sports

REDLANDS, Calif. - The fifth seed Cal Lutheran volleyball team fell to top-seeded Colorado College 3-2 in the west region semifinals of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship in Redlands on Friday. The Regals who battled back all season long fell just short of climbing out of a 2-1 hole.

Box Score: CC 3, CLU 2 - F

The No. 13 nationally ranked Tigers took the opening set of the match 25-22 despite the unranked Regals hitting .297 behind strong starts from freshman Rachel Smith (four kills, eight attacks, no errors) and junior Allison Kerr (four kills, seven attacks, no errors).

Three consecutive aces from the Tigers turned a two-point CLU advantage into a 16-15 deficit. CC put down back-to-back kills to close out the first set.

Smith finished with a team-high 13 kills and 23 digs. Kerr tallied 10 kills, three aces and a match high 2.5 total blocks.

As they did one day prior, the Regals responded to a first set loss with a strong performance in the second set. Junior Megan Thorpe and senior Cori Hayes each had three kills on six attempts in the set and led CLU to a .323 attack percentage and 25-14 win.

A diving dig from Kerr followed by a sliding dig from sophomore Jacki Richards was capped by a Thorpe kill to end a long rally and gave the Regals an early four point lead. Smith evened the match at one set apiece with a kill down the line that found its way off the top of the block and to an open left corner.

Thorpe equaled Smith's team-high mark of 23 digs and added 12 kills of her own while Hayes had seven kills, nine digs and four assists in her final collegiate match.

The CLU attack cooled off in the third set, dipping down to a .140 hitting percentage. CLU was unable to take advantage of junior Erin Exline's hot hand (three kills, five attacks, no errors) and fell 25-22.

Exline's final attack percentage of .231 led all Regals as she posted nine kills on 26 attempts with three errors.

After facing the same situation in Thursday's victory over the University of Puget Sound, the Regals were forced to battle back to keep their season alive 2-1 and they responded. In a tightly contested fourth set that featured four lead changes and 14 tie scores CLU edged the Tigers 25-23 to force a fifth set.

Freshman Jackie Russell handed out 44 assists to go along with 14 digs and three kills.

In their second consecutive fifth set match and starting their tenth set in two days, CLU led 8-5 at the switch after a Smith kill from the outside.

The Tigers quickly erased CLU's lead and after an attack error by the Regals, CC held a 12-9 lead and finished off the set and the match 15-10.

Richards posted 10 digs in her serving specialist, back-row role while senior liberos Jenna Meligan and Bridgette Redmond combined for 21 digs.

Cal Lutheran (21-12) ends the season having posted back-to-back 20-plus win seasons for the first time since 2000, 2001. Colorado College (34-4) advances to the west region final on Saturday night.