MESA, Ariz. – The Benedictine University Mesa women's volleyball team battled to the California Pacific Conference regular season championship, finishing the regular season with an 18-2 league mark, and earned the #1 seed in next week's league playoffs securing the first of the Cal Pac's two NAIA national tournament bids.

REDHAWKS – 3, EAGLES – 2

25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 25-16, 16-14

Brianna Rivera and Kylie Bartel scored double-figure kills as the Redhawks defeated Embry-Riddle in a five-set thriller Friday night in Prescott, Ariz. The Redhawks put away 62 kills but only hit for a .144 clip on the night.

Rivera led the team with 22 kills, picked up 7 digs, and added two block assists on the night. Bartel notched her eighth triple-double of the season with 14 kills, 20 assists, and 15 digs.

The Redhawks came out firing in the opening set as they poured in 14 kills and hit .243 en route to a 25-20 win. Rivera scored five of BenU's kills in the frame, with Bartel notching three. Courtney Ely and Keshara Montgomery tallied two kills each. The Eagles committed 10 errors while the Redhawks had 5 in the first set.

As was the theme for the night, Embry-Riddle responded in the second with an improved offensive effort. The Eagles took the second set, 25-20. The difference was in the errors, with BenU making 10 despite outhitting the Eagles. The third set went much like the second with the Redhawks committing more errors to give Embry-Riddle a 2-1 advantage.

The Redhawks took advantage of another strong offensive effort to hit for a match high, .400 hitting percentage and tallying 15 kills. Brianna Rivera landed 6 kills in the frame while Courtney Ely, Keelan Memory, and Kylie Bartel added two each.

The tight back-and-forth battle continued into the fifth set. The difference in the final frame was the untimely errors committed by both teams but proving to be detrimental to the Eagles offense. The Redhawks hit for .037 while the Eagles hit negative in the final set.

REDHAWKS – 3, BUCCANEERS – 1

25-23 18-25 25-22 25-19

In the final match of the regular season, the Redhawks defeated Park-Gilbert in four sets to claim the league title.

Freshman Laylah Daniel and sophomore Kylie Bartel both tallied double-digit kills with 13 and 10, respectively. Daniel also added 13 digs in the match.  Courtney Ely and Brianna Rivera both had 9 kills. Keshara Montgomery had 3 block assists and one solo block Mariah Montoya added 3 block assists.

Annabelle Somoza and Haley Rivera achieved career milestones in the second set of the match. Somoza reached 2,000 career assists while Rivera reached 1,000 career digs. Both now hold program records for their career and season performances. Somoza now holds the record for career aces with 184 and aces in a season with 66.

Keshara Montgomery tied the program record for career blocks and now sits at the top with Lauren Purdy with 187 blocks.

UP NEXT

The Redhawks will travel to San Marcos, Calif. for the Cal Pac Championship Tournament. The Redhawks will enter the tournament as the #1 seed and receive a bye for the first round. BenU will face the winner of Park-Gilbert and Embry-Riddle on Friday, Nov. 11 at 12 p.m.