Boxscore:  LV 3, RED 1

Boxscore:  CLU 3, LV 1

Two conference matches faced the University of La Verne volleyball squad as it took on the University of Redlands followed by SCIAC leader Cal Lutheran in the nightcap.

The Leopards topped the Bulldogs 3-1 in the opener before dropping a 3-1 decision to the Regals at Frantz Athletic Court.

Against Redlands, the Leos started strong by building a 15-3 advantage in the opening set en route to a decisive 25-10 win to take a 1-0 advantage.  La Verne hit .262 in the first set compared to a -.048 clip for the Bulldogs. 

La Verne took a 2-0 lead by virtue of a 25-18 win in the second stanza.  Both teams traded the first 18 points resulting in a 9-9 deadlock before Kendall Kraiss connected on back-to-back kills to propel a 7-2 run to provide the Leopards with a 16-11 lead. La Verne stretched the lead to 20-13 on its way to victory to the 25-18 triumph.

The Bulldogs bounced back in the third set, never trailing as they eventually opened a 17-11 lead.  The Leos closed to within three at 24-21 but suffered an attack error on the ensuing point as the Dawgs closed the deficit to 2-1.

In the fourth set, La Verne regained control early and raced out to a 10-2 lead as Anna Calmer scored five of the Leopards' 10 points on kills.  Redlands got to within four on two occasions, but the Leos reeled off four straight points to push the advantage back to eight at 18-10.  La Verne would go up 23-11 on its way to victory closing the match on a kill from Randi Taylor-Toomay.

The win avenged a defeat to the Bulldogs three nights earlier as La Verne hit .214 compared to .089 for the visitors. 

Calmer recorded a match-high 20 kills while Catie Logan added 13 in the win.

Though the Leopards battled in their second match, they were not as fortunate against the Regals in the evening contest, falling in four sets. 

The two teams were even for much of the first set before the Leopards opened leads of 23-21 and 24-22.  CLU fought off two match points to tie at 24-24, then closed the set on a service ace coupled with a Leopard attack error to prevail 26-24. 

The Regals broke a 8-8 tie in the second set with a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 advantage. CLU continued its momentum by opening a 17-10 lead en route to a 25-20 win to go up 2-0. 

The third set contained several lead changes as the Leopards built an early 7-4 lead before CLU responded with a 6-0 run to grab a 10-7 lead.  La Verne forged a 13-13 tie on consecutive attack errors by Cal Lu, and regained the lead at 17-16 on a kill from Kraiss.  The Leopards gained a match point at 24-20 on a kill from Tiffany Johnstone, but watched CLU win the next four points to tie at 24-24.  La Verne would claim the set on a Regal service error followed by an attack error to win 26-24.

Cal Lu raced to an 11-6 lead in the fourth stanza, but La Verne answered with a 7-2 run to tie the set at 13-13.  The Regals responded with a decisive 17-13, and kept the Leos at bay through the remainder of the set to win 25-19, earning their 10th league win against no defeats.

Megan Thorpe paced CLU with 18 kills while Allison Kerr and Casy McWhirk collected 14 kills each.  Taylor-Toomay lead La Verne with 13 kills followed by Calmer with 10.

La Verne continues action Saturday in Whittier as it takes on Bates at 4:00 pm followed by a conference tilt against the Poets at 6:00 pm