The University of La Verne opened the second round of SCIAC play in victorious fashion with a 3-0 triumph over Pomona-Pitzer Friday night at Voelkel Gymnasium in Claremont.
Set scores were 26-24, 25-13 and 26-24.
A trio of Leopards posted double figures in kills on the evening. Additionally, the SCIAC leaders held the Hens to a .076 hitting percentage in the sweep.
In the first set, the Sagehens went on 7-1 run to take an early 9-6 lead to force a Leopard timeout. Down 23-22, the Leos scored the next two points to grab a 24-23 advantage. The Hens responded to tie at 24 all but the Leos earned the next two points on back-to-back kills from Kayla Cribbs and Catie Logan. Cribbs posted 6 kills in the frame.
La Verne (15-2, 8-1 SCIAC) dominated the second frame as it jumped out to early leads of 8-4 and 13-6 en route to a 15-8 advantage to force a Sagehen timeout. Pomona-Pitzer closed the gap at 17-12, the Leopards answered with a 4-0 run of their own to stretch the lead to 21-12. The Leos closed out the frame winning three consecutive points to earn a 25-13 set win and a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, the Sagehens (8-9, 3-6 SCIAC) scored the first five points en route to a 10-4 lead. La Verne, however, proceeded on a 6-0 run to knot the frame at 10-10. The Hens would reclaim the lead during and held a 17-15 edge before the Leos would again forge a tie at 17. The Sagehens won the next five points to take a 22-17 lead, but he Leopards followed with a 4-0 run to get within a point at 22-21. An ace from Morgan Donohue brought the Leos back into a tie at 23. A kill from Logan gave La Verne a match point, and an ace from Anna Suarez on the ensuing point closed out the contest for a Leopard sweep.
La Verne continues SCIAC action on Saturday as it plays host to Occidental College at Frantz Athletic Court. The Leopards and Tigers are meeting for the second time in seven days. Start time is 6:00 pm.