THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Wabash College volleyball team pushed fifth-ranked Cal Lutheran in several stretches Monday night but ultimately fell 3–1 to the nationally ranked Kingsmen in a nonconference match at Gilbert Arena.
Cal Lutheran claimed the victory by set scores of 25–18, 25–18, 25–27, 25–22 to drop the Little Giants to 5–7 overall while the Kingsmen improved to 18–4 on the season.
Monday's match marked the final contest in a challenging three-match stretch for Wabash against nationally ranked opponents during its California spring break trip. The Little Giants opened the trip with a four-set loss Sunday to 14th-ranked Wentworth Institute of Technology after earning a five-set victory over No. 12 Baldwin Wallace the previous weekend.
Junior outside hitter Bawibawi Thang led the Wabash offense with 24 kills while hitting .425 on 40 attempts. Freshman middle blocker Jaden Greenwell added 11 kills with a team-best .529 hitting percentage, and Ben Donaldson and Shad Wilson each finished with seven kills. Setter Matthew Stitle directed the offense with 41 assists as the Little Giants produced 53 kills and a .290 team attack percentage.
Cal Lutheran countered with 57 kills and a .354 attack percentage, led by Connor Crawford's 20 kills. Brendan Hom added 12 kills and Mason Rowell contributed eight kills as the Kingsmen held a slight edge in blocks, 5.5–4.0.
The Kingsmen seized early control in the opening set with a mid-set run that stretched a 6–6 tie into a 13–8 advantage. Wabash trimmed the deficit to 16–12 on a Thang kill before Cal Lutheran responded with a 5–1 push to regain momentum on the way to the 25–18 win.
Cal Lutheran carried that momentum into the second set, building an early 7–4 lead and extending the margin with a 6–1 run to go in front 17–12. The Little Giants closed within 18–14 following a block by Greenwell and Wilson, but the Kingsmen finished the set with a late surge to take a 2–0 lead in the match.
Wabash responded with its strongest stretch in the third set, which featured 18 tie scores and seven lead changes. The teams traded points throughout the frame before the Little Giants rallied from a 23–20 deficit. Thang sparked the comeback with consecutive kills to tie the set at 23–23, and Wabash later closed out the set when Wilson delivered the final kill to secure the 27–25 victory.
The fourth set again featured tight play early, with the teams battling to an 18–18 tie midway through the frame. Cal Lutheran capitalized on a brief Wabash scoring drought, scoring three straight points to take a 21–18 advantage. The Little Giants answered with back-to-back kills from Donaldson and Greenwell to close within two, but Crawford delivered a late kill to reach match point before Hom finished the match at 25–22.
Piotr Wolan anchored the Wabash defense with 11 digs, while Thang added six digs and five service receptions. The Little Giants finished with 30 team digs and two service aces.
Wabash continues its California spring break trip on Wednesday with a pair of matches at UC Santa Cruz. The Little Giants face Kean University at 5 p.m. before taking on seventh-ranked UC Santa Cruz at 7 p.m. Pacific Time.
