The California Lutheran University Regals volleyball team lost a hard-fought match against Claremont Mudd-Scripps in three straight sets, bringing their record to 3-1 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 7-7 overall. 

Prior to the match, Head Coach Kellee Roesel laid out a clear objective for her players.

“We’re going to have to be aggressive. We’re gonna have to punch on serving and we’re going to have to punch in the front row and use our back row offense,” Roesel said.

The Regals recorded a total of 28 kills throughout the match, 8 of which were recorded by senior blocker Maci Haddad.

“Maci Haddad is an All-American middle and a leader for us, but I have to have some of these young kids step up if we’re going to contend with a team like CMS,” Roesel said.

The first set of the match remained close, as both teams went back and forth until the Athenas, who are unbeaten this season, eventually edged out with a final set score of 25-23. 

“I thought we were right there in the first set. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain the momentum,” Roesel said. 

The second set saw a much different story as the Athenas separated themselves by a large margin, going up 19-5, and eventually winning it 25-15. 

“Their libero went on a tear and we just got stuck. I think we just lost our confidence. We shouldn’t have but we did. That’s part of volleyball though. It’s an imperfect game,” junior setter Tess Holbert said. 

The Regals got off to a quick start in the third set, playing aggressively. Although they were intent on forcing a fourth set, they eventually fell to the Athenas by a score of 25-10, ending the Regals’ six-game winning streak. 

“I thought we played the right defense for the most part. We got stuck in a couple serve receives and their libero was able to go on ridiculous runs to put together 10 to 12 points in a row, and I tried to call timeout but I just couldn’t stop their momentum…that’s why they’re No. 1 in the nation,” Roesel said. 

Despite the loss to the Claremont Mudd-Scripps Athenas, the Regals volleyball players feel confident moving forward together. They are aware of their team’s overall improvement as the season has progressed and have set their sights high for the season.

“To go from 1-6 to 7-6 is a big turnaround…We got a lot of confidence beating the No. 10 team in the nation and we just keep working really really hard in practice, coming ready every single day,” Holbert said. “We know what we’re capable of and I definitely know this isn’t going to be a damper on our confidence.”

Holbert also said the Regal’s goal is to get the No.1 or No.2 spot in SCIAC. 

“Another goal we have is that we want to continue to love volleyball and love each other,” Haddad said. 

Haddad said there is a fire that burns within the Regals team. 

“I’m really looking forward to continuing to play with my sisters. It’s my last season so I’m constantly looking forward to playing volleyball with some girls I love. We started off a little rough and we know we’re better than that. We just know we don’t want to play like that anymore and that’s what really puts the fire under us,”  Haddad said. 

Roesel’s goals for the season were even simpler–to win.