Sept. 15, 2003

Charleston, SC - With Friday afternoon's victory over The Citadel (S.C.), the California Baptist women's volleyball team has already done in 12 matches this season what it could not do in a full 24-contest schedule in 2001. The Lancers cruised to their third straight win, but more importantly, picked up their seventh win of the young season with a 30-26, 30-20, 30-17 sweep over the NCAA Div. I Bulldogs. The 2001 Lancer volleyball team finished 6-18.

Sophomore outside hitter Ashlea Thornton led the way for the Lancers, posting match-highs of 12 kills and 13 digs to go with 3 blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Jessica Hatch recorded seven kills and had a hand in four of the Lancers' six blocks in the one-hour, 14-minute match. Sophomore Heather Morgan added eight kills, while freshmen Christina Davis and Elizabeth Salazar notched six kills apiece.

Salazar tallied five of her six kills in the Lancers' 30-26 first-game victory, and Thornton led the way in the second game with six of her 12 kills. Freshman Brooke Shea opened the third game with a pair of aces as Cal Baptist jumped out to a 4-0. With the Lancers leading 8-7, Morgan recorded three kills to spark a seven-point run that gave Cal Baptist a 15-7 lead. Shea again took serve with an 18-11 lead, recording two more aces in the midst of a six-point run that gave the Lancers a 24-11 lead.

The Citadel was led by senior outside hitter Nicole Mantu (Corona, Calif./Corona HS), who posted team-highs of 10 kills and 12 digs in front of a large contingent of family and friends. None of Mantu's teammates registered more than five kills, however, and the Bulldogs finished with just three team blocks, no service aces, and a 3.7 percent hitting percentage.

With the win, Cal Baptist improves to 7-5 on the season, while The Citadel drops to 2-4. The Citadel also played Hope International at Cal Baptist on september 14, losing 1-3, which adds another loss to the season, 2-5. Although the games were close, The Bulldogs could not pull off the wins in California. The Citadel continues their season at home, September 17 against Savannah State at 6pm.