THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Playing two of the top teams from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on the first day of the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational, the George Fox University Bruins fell to the Chapman University Panthers and to the nationally-ranked and tournament host California Lutheran University Regals by 3-1 scores here Saturday afternoon.

Game 1 – Chapman 3, George Fox 1

In Cal Lutheran's auxiliary Soiland Gym, the Bruins dropped a 25-20, 25-18, 25-27, 25-20 match to the Panthers from Orange, Calif., who are in their first year of eligibility in the SCIAC after many years as an independent.

In the first set, the Bruins struggled to their lowest hitting percentage of the match (.047), with only eight kills and six errors.  Their percentage picked up to .167 in the second set, but the Panthers were on top of their game and actually won by the largest margin of any of the four sets.

In the third set, Tiffany Burk had six of her team-high 15 kills in leading the Bruins to victory.  George Fox hit .185 in the set and saved a match point while down 24-25 before winning in overtime.  However, the Bruins could not sustain the momentum in the fourth set and hit only .068 as the Panthers secured their fourth straight victory, improving to 4-1.  The Bruins fell to 1-2.

Burk hit .294 to pace the Bruins, aided by Erin Campbell's 11 kills and nine each by Cassie Irwin and Lucy Capron.  Chelsea Brustad handed out 31 assists and Payton Shrum added 13.  Chelsea Wilson made 23 defensive digs and served four aces, Capron had 21 digs, and Campbell dug 11, while Burk had four solo blocks.

Chapman's statistics for the box score were not readily available right after the match.

Game 2 – at California Lutheran 3, George Fox 1

The Regals, ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III pre-season poll by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, cruised through the first two sets before the Bruins awoke and made a match of it in Gilbert Arena.  Cal Lutheran held the Bruins to a .176 hitting percentage in the opener and to an even .000 in the second.

George Fox hit only .100 but tightened up on defense to make numerous key digs and blocks, pulling off an upset in the third set against the powerful Regals.  In the fourth set, the Bruins hung close and were only down by one at 22-21 before the home team captured the last three points to secure the match win.

Erin Campbell had a fine game for the Bruins as she recorded eight kills with no errors and a .33 hitting percentage, but the Bruins managed only a .075 mark as a team.  Chelsea Brustad made 11 assists, Chelsea Wilson picked up 17 digs, and Tiffany Burk had three blocks, including another solo.

Kylie McLogan hammered 25 kills and Shannon Pearson added 11 as the Regals, who are now 2-0, hit .306 for the match.  Jackie Russell passed out 47 assists.  Defensively, McLogan had 12 digs, Russell and Erika Smith had 11 each, and Rachel Smith contributed 10.  Pearson had three blocks.

For a complete list of Friday's scores for all games, visit Cal Lutheran's official tournament web site at http://www.clusports.com/pages/tournaments/2012vbPRtournament.php.

NEXT: George Fox meets two more SCIAC teams in the Cal Lu Fornia Tournament, sponsored by the Posada Royale Hotel, in two matches on Saturday.  The Bruins will face the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at 11:30 a.m. and the University of Redlands at 4:00 p.m.