Regals Volleyball went 2-1 as it hosted teams from all over the country for the annual Cal Lu Fornia Tournament this past weekend.ย
โI would like to have a lot more answers than questions at the end of this tournament. I want us to get a little bit more comfortable and move towards a true starting lineup would be nice and ideal,” Head Coach Kellee Roesel said. “At the end of the day, I want them to ball out and love each other and work hard. We focus more on the process and not on the result.โ
On Friday, the Regals took on the 23rd-ranked team in the nation, the East Texas Baptist University Tigers. The Regals put up a tough fight, but could not contain the hard hitters from the Tigers as they lost 3-1.ย
The Tigers won the first two sets convincingly with scores of 25-16 and 25-11. The Regals took the third set by a score of 27-25 and showed that the team can compete with the best teams in the country. In the fourth set, the Regals almost tied the game up at two sets apiece, but the Tigers snuck away with a 25-22 victory.
5th-year middle blocker Kira Mortensen led the Regals in kills with 15 and had an attacking percentage of .520. She also led the team in points with 17. Senior captain and outside hitter Sophia Muller also had 5 kills and 6 points.ย
โI think we started out a little slow, but we came back in the last two sets. I think we showed out as best we could,โ Muller said.
Muller also expressed how excited she was to see some first-year players step up and how proud she was of the team for fighting back.ย
The Regals bounced back in it’s next two games of the tournament and beat UC Santa Cruz 3-0 and the University of Puget Sound 3-2.
The Cal Lu Fornia Tournament is special not just for the University, but for the deeper meaning behind the tournament.
Roesel said she started the annual tournament in her second year coaching the Regals, and credits her husband with coming up with the tournament name. She also teamed up with a pediatric cancer foundation to create a bigger spotlight at the tournament, not just volleyball.
โGo4TheGoal is the pediatric cancer foundation that we work with and if you donโt want to get behind trying to figure out how to stop kids from getting cancer, I canโt help you,โ Roesel said.ย
At the tournament, there were codes to scan where people could donate to the cause. The Regals will also be wearing yellow shoelaces throughout the month in support of the fight against pediatric cancer. Roesel said she sent out emails to all the teams coming to the tournament explaining the meaning of the tournament and where everyone can donate.
โWe are super grateful to be hosting a tournament right now and to have teams fly across the country to come to our home means a lot. Itโs an honor. We play for everyone, the kids and we play for what we are grateful for,โ Muller said.
Assistant Coach Kevin Judd said that bringing great volleyball teams from all over the country to the Cal Lu Fornia tournament is great for Regals Volleyball.
โItโs great to bring a lot of good quality volleyball into our arena. We have a couple of recruits on campus right now and just seeing the potential future of Regal Volleyball is great to see what we can bring to Cal Lu,โ Judd said.ย
Roesel said that she trusts her team to collectively raise a certain amount of money for Go4TheGoal and believes in their ability to reach that goal.
โWe put it on the girls to raise $100 a piece. So if we can raise $2500 that would be fantastic and hopefully we double that with all the incoming teams. $5000 would be nice and is an attainable goal,โ Roesel said.
The Regals will continue to support the fight against pediatric cancer as the team takes on Life Pacific University in an exhibition match this Thursday,ย at home.
