CALIFORNIA (Sept. 15) – Senior Lois van Schaik (Naarden, Netherlands/St. Vituscollege) set a career high with 19 kills on a .286 clip on Saturday afternoon, as the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team posted a 3-1 victory (21-25, 25-14, 26-24, 25-22) over Bloomsburg at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover play.
 
With the win, the Vulcans improve to 9-5 this season behind a 2-0 record in league action. Meanwhile, the Huskies, a first-year program, fall to 4-7 overall with a 0-2 mark in conference action.
 
van Schiak led the team in kills and freshman Sarah Moehring (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) recorded a kill/dig double-double with 13 kills and 18 digs. Junior Rachel Priore (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) registered nine kills, while freshman Sarah Benson (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) guided the offense on her third-straight assist/dig double-double with 42 assists and 15 digs against Bloomsburg.
 
Priore paced the defensive effort with a career-high 28 digs, while freshman Shelby Alloway (Dunkirk, Ohio/Hardin Northern) notched a season-high 20 digs in the win. Moehring and Benson both tallied double-digit digs, while sophomore Jensen Silbaugh (Warren, Ohio/Lakeview) recorded 14 digs and matched a career high with four service aces on Saturday. Senior Tina Bellhy (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) and van Schaik controlled the net with five blocks each and senior Emily Bucklin (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) added four blocks.
 
Both team exchanged points in the first set before the Huskies registered a pair of kills and a service ace to take a 7-3 lead while forcing a Cal U timeout. Bloomsburg extended its advantage to 13-8 before the Vulcans closed the gap on three-straight kills from van Schaik, 14-11. The Huskies scored six of the next eight points to take a 20-13 lead, but Cal U rallied back to trim the deficit to 21-17. After a pair of points by Bloomsburg, the Vulcans recorded three-unanswered to cut the deficit to 23-20. Cal U tallied another point after the timeout before the Huskies claimed the first set on back-to-back attack errors, 25-21.
 
After one lead change, the Vulcan took the second set with a 25-14 win. Cal U opened up an early 8-3 advantage before Bloomsburg recorded a 5-2 run to trim the deficit to 10-8. Cal U continued to hold the lead and tallied eight-straight points to take a commanding 22-12 lead. The Huskies managed to break the run, but the Vulcans closed the set with a 4-1 run, 25-14.
 
Cal U posted 14 kills on a .234 hitting percentage to take the third set, 26-24. Bloomsburg took four of the initial six points before the Vulcans took the lead with six-straight points, 8-4. Cal U extended the lead to 14-9, but the Huskies scored three-unanswered to force a timeout. The Vulcans scored four-straight points and Bloomsburg responded to tie the match at 18-18 with a 6-0 run. Cal U ended the run and rallied back with the next five points before the Huskies countered to the knot the contest at 23-23. A kill and service ace from Moehring sealed the third set, 26-24.
 
The Vulcans completed the match victory with a 25-22 win in the fourth set. After both teams traded points early in the set, Bloomsburg used a 4-0 run to take a 13-10 advantage. Cal U countered to take the lead by scoring four of the next five points with Moehring tallying a pair of kills, 15-14. The Huskies reclaimed the lead at 17-15 before the Vulcans notched a 5-2 run to take a 20-18 advantage. Cal U stretched the lead to 23-19 on three-straight attack errors, but Bloomsburg countered with three of the next four points, 24-22. The Vulcans secured the match victory on service error by the Huskies, 25-22
 
Cal U returns to action on Friday, Sept. 21, when it travels to face defending-league champion Pitt-Johnstown in PSAC Crossover play at 7 p.m.