SAN DIEGO– The 2021 Regis University volleyball season is officially underway. The No. 22 ranked Regis University Rangers are competing at the Seaside Invitational in San Diego, California at Point Loma University.
 
How It Happened: In their first matchup of the tournament, the Rangers took on the No. 3 ranked California State University, San Bernardino Coyotes in a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Division II semifinals of the women's volleyball tournament.
 
In the opening set, RU was able to capitalize on a number of their offensive opportunities which led to a 10-5 lead after 15 points. After a timeout from CSUSB, the Coyotes rallied back to tie the set at 11, and then managed to take over the lead 12-11 one point later. The lead grew to three points, 17-14, before junior Nadine Burbrink scored to bring Regis within two points. With the score at 22-24 in favor of San Bernardino, the Coyotes got the set ending score on a kill from Melissa Garciglia.
 
Set two was another win for CSUSB, this time defeating the Rangers 25-19 behind a .333 attack percentage and 11 kills. In set two, the Rangers terminated on .143 percent of their 21 attacks. The 21 attacks in set two were the lowest of any set in the match for RU.
 
In the third set, RU got four-straight points to start the set including two kills from senior Rachel Siurek and a service ace from junior Mara LeGrand. The Regis lead grew to six points, 7-1, after Siurek posted back-to-back kills. The largest lead of the set came at 11-3 for the Rangers, but the Coyotes fought their way back into the set, tying the score at 19. Despite the comeback attempt, RU went on a 5-0 run to take a 24-19 lead, and forcing set point. A service error from CSUSB handed Regis their first set win of the season, 25-22.
 
After forcing a fourth set, the Rangers found themselves trailing 7-9 in the set before an attack error from the designated home team put RU within one point, 8-9. Three Regis attack errors, a service ace from the Coyotes and back-to-back kills from the 2019 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Player of the Year, Alexis Cardoza, put the Rangers in a 15-8 hole in the fourth set. RU was unable to climb their way out of the deficit and San Bernardino came away with the 25-15 fourth set win to capture the match.
 
Game Notes: Siurek was the team leader with 16 kills, a .306 attack percentage and three blocks in the match. LeGrand tallied 33 assists, two kills, and added seven digs in the match. Graduate student Caitlyn Burroway led all players in the match with 15 digs. Burbrink registered seven kills in her first game as a Ranger, leading the team with three service aces. As a team, Regis finished with a .140 hitting percentage with 42 kills, 23 attack errors. The team also committed 14 service errors while adding seven service aces.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University volleyball team will continue in the Seaside Invitational, playing two games tomorrow. The first match will be a 1 p.m. bout with Azusa Pacific University followed by their second game of the day at 6 p.m. with tournament host Point Loma. Tune in tomorrow to see if the volleyball team can bounce back from their season opening loss.