WESTON, Mass. - The Regis (Mass.) couldn't stop the high-flying offense of California Lutheran University on Monday evening, as the visiting Kingsmen swept the Pride in non-conference action at Higgins Court. Set scores were 25-21, 25-22, 25-12.
With the loss, the Pride falls to 6-12 on the season, while the Kingsmen run their winning streak to three and improve to 15-8.
The first set saw the Kingsmen jump out to an early 10-5 lead, forcing the Pride to take a timeout. The Pride looked re-energized coming out of the timeout, slowly chipping away at the deficit to eventually trail by just one at 19-18 and again at 20-19 and 21-20. The Pride couldn't seal the deal however, as a late 3-0 clinched the early advantage for Cal Lutheran. Kingsman sophomore Andrew Reina (Orange, Calif.) led all players in the opening set with seven kills, followed closely by the Pride's Drew Beimel (Redondo Beach, Calif.) with six.
The Pride appeared to be primed for a equalizing second set victory, but a big mid-set surge from the Kingsmen gave the visitors a commanding 2-0 lead. With the Pride ahead 14-10 midway through the set, the Kingsmen went on a 7-1 run to go ahead by two thanks in part to three kills from sophomore Patrick Rowe (Long Beach, Calif.). The Kingsmen would never look back after taking the lead, clinching the set, fittingly, on another kill by Rowe.
The second set comeback sucked all the life out of the Pride, and the Kingsmen cruised to an easy 25-12 third set to clinch the victory.
Reina led all players on the evening with 13 kills, while the Pride was led by Beimel, who finished with 11. Rowe also had a strong stat line on the evening, finishing with 10 kills, five digs, a block, and a service ace. As a team, the Kingsman had an attack percentage of .389 on the evening, including a mark of .611 in the third and final set.
Next up for the Pride, they will host the Saints of Emmanuel College tomorrow night at Higgins Court for a 7:00 p.m. The Kingsmen will also be right back on the court tomorrow evening, continuing their New England swing with a matchup against Wentworth at 7:00 p.m.
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