Richard Briggs

rbriggs@thespectrum.com

ST. GEORGE – Chalk up another one. Red Storm volleyball continues to roll through the Pacific West Conference.

The California Baptist Lancers (13-8, 9-4) pushed the Dixie State Red Storm (15-6, 12-1) to the limit in Saturday's volleyball match, but the Red Storm held them off for a five-set victory (12-25, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 15-10). Dixie State remained in second place after the win, and Cal Baptist fell to a fourth-place tie with Point Loma Nazarene.

"We're gunning for first," said Edithza Urias, a junior outside hitter from Bakersfield, California. "That's what we talked about. We're not second place, and we believe it."

Going into the fifth set after the Lancers evened the match, the Red Storm put all their motivation into winning at home and keeping their streak alive.

"We haven't lost at home, so we put everything into protecting our house," she said. "We had no doubt we're going to win."

Urias led the charge with seven kills in the fifth game, and the Red Storm rose above the Lancers to win. Urias clobbered 17 kills overall, most of those coming on sets from Shelby Sorenson, who chipped in 48 assists.

Sorenson assisted on three of Dixie State's first four points of the fifth game. The Lancers called a timeout down 4-0 after Urias killed two points, Makenzi Bird won a 50-50 ball at the net and Kendahl Weiland hammered down a point.

Eventually, the Red Storm finished off match point up 14-10. Senior outside hitter Maddie Rex hit the hardwood for a dig to keep the ball in play. Sorenson set up underneath it to lay it out in the just the right spot for the left-handed Weiland, who knocked down the final point to give Dixie State the win.

"The key was overcoming that first game," DSU coach Robyn Felder said. "Once we had the mentality to get over that, we just had to work on finishing and be confident."

Sorenson's consistent play and reliability with setting made a big difference, Felder said. She stood in "to get beat up" at the net by Cal Baptist's big hitters, but she remained tough and passed the ball to the perfect spots for her teammates.

As for Urias, Felder said her ferocity translates into energy for everyone else.

"Edz is a gamer," she said. "She brings a huge amount of energy and is so reliable."

Great offense starts with great defense, Urias said, and the Dixie State defense played spectacular Saturday.

"We rely on our defense to get the pass off, and our setters will get to it," Urias said. "When that happens, we just have to do our job on offense."

The Lancers stayed on the Red Storm's heels with the play of their duo outside hitters, Michelle Waber and Lauren Hackett. Waber stands at 6-feet-3-inches, and Hackett stands at 6-feet-2. Their height advantages helped them garner 39 kills combined. The two most critical came late in the fifth game.

Hackett found an open space in the Red Storm defense and exploited it with a kill toward the back corner. That made the score 12-9. Then at match point, Cal Baptist kept the game alive with a kill by Waber before Dixie State finished off the win.

There's no time to celebrate the close win. The two schools play the rematch against each other Thursday in Riverside, California.

"We need to do a better job with our blocking," Felder said. "(Waber) is a stud. She gave us problems. We also need to focus playing on the road. Cal Baptist has a crazy crowd. The energy in that arena is going to be against us."

Follow Richard Briggs on Twitter, @BriggsRich.