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MALIBU, CALIF. — Men’s volleyball (7-5, 6-4) ended its three-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Cal Baptist (3-10) in a non-conference match-up on Feb. 15.
What was supposed to be an easy win turned into a battle, but behind junior Maurice Torres’ team-high 26 kills and 12 digs, the Waves claimed the victory.
The two teams traded points early on, and late into the first set. Head Coach Marv Dunphy attempted to settle his young team with a couple of timeouts, but the Lancers still managed to take the set, 25-22.
In the second set, Torres dominated, along with Freshman Josh Taylor who recorded 18 kills. At the end of the set, the Lancers tripped up with a service error to hand over the second set win to the Waves, 25-16.
Coming off of the hard-fought second set, the Waves began the third set with a 4-0 skid. Torres put an end to it with a kill (1-4), and continuously tried to even the score, yet the Lancers laid it on heavy, 19-25.
Lengthy rallies characterized the fourth set, with four lead changes within the first 10 points scored. Ultimately, it proved to be service errors that determined the winner. The Waves barely escaped, 25-21, to tie up the game, 2-2.
The men’s volleyball squad emerged with energy in the final set, and jumped out to a 12-7 lead. Torres slammed two consecutive serve aces. He nailed four total on the game. The effort by Torres proved to be enough to gain the Waves the fifth set win, 15-10, and the game win, 3-2.
Next, the team embarks on a four-game road trip, starting off against Stanford (9-2, 6-1) on Feb. 24.
