The No. 8 ranked California Lutheran University Kingsmen volleyball team (19-5) re-entered the win column Thursday night at Gilbert Arena when it defeated the No. 14 Hobart College Statesmen (18-7) in just three sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-18).
According to fifth-year outside hitter Jordan Cooper, the Kingsmen used the confidence they gained from their success in the recent Cal-Lu-Fornia Invitational to emerge victorious against the Statesmen.
โYou know, I think that with those four wins, especially being perfect, it definitely gave us confidence going into these next matches. And so, it was definitely good to get that under our belt since the beginning of our season was so hard,โ Cooper said. โAnd just having the confidence to 3-0 all of them, and then coming out here and getting a 3-0 win is definitely encouraging, to say the least.โ
In Thursdayโs match against the Statesmen, Cooper led the team in kills with 10, and also posted three blocks. Fifth-year outside hitter Ben Weber, who set the Kingsmen volleyball all-time dig record (554) at the Cal-Lu-Fornia Tournament on March 15, had an ace and three assists on Thursday.
Although the Kingsmen led for the entirety of the match, at some points, they let the Statesmen gain momentum.
โYeah, I mean, I think itโs all about, when they get momentum, slowing down the game, you know, bringing it in, taking a second longer in between serves and just focusing on the next play, having a quick mindset and moving on,โ Weber said.
The defending Division III National Champion Kingsmen are the only school in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a menโs volleyball team. The team competes against a mix of Division I, II, III and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics teams.
Last Tuesday, the Kingsmen traveled to Fullerton, California to face the Hope International University Royals, an NAIA squad, and ultimately lost the match in a hard-fought five-set battle.
โTheyโre a great team and definitely came out and beat, or was better than our expectations, but, you know, coming back to practice on Wednesday and working on some things, and then, definitely huge coming back and getting this win,โ Cooper said.
The Kingsmen now have just one DIII matchup left to play in their season. On Saturday, April 12, the Kingsmen will take on the University of California, Santa Cruz Banana Slugs.
โYou know, we talked about passion in the locker room before coming in here, and really giving it your all. We are in kind of a do-or-die situation. Our playoffs kind of have already begun and we just, we had them [Hobart] tonight, we have Santa Cruz on April 12, and for us to get into the tournament, we just, we canโt make any mistakes,โ Head Coach Kevin Judd said.
With two official matches left before they face the Banana Slugs, the Kingsmen will first host the DI University of California, Santa Barbara Gauchos in their next match on Tuesday, March 25 at 6 p.m.
Judd said playing a DI opponent like Santa Barbara will again be โa learning opportunityโ for the Kingsmen.
โThat will really test our service game, if we can get them out of system, and also it gives us an opportunity to pass a really good serve from a high level, which we take into some of our matches as just good training,โ Judd said.
The Kingsmen, who lost to the Gauchos in their last meeting on February 25, will seek redemption Tuesday night.
โYeah, I mean, this time weโll have them at home, so thatโll be nice. We know a little bit more about what they do, and their go-to guys, so we just gotta focus on our game, maybe watch a little film on their oppo, and then come out and do our thing,โ Weber said.
