LOS ANGELES — Delaney Lynch and Kelsi Robinson combined for 24 kills on .340 hitting to lead the University of La Verne volleyball team to a 25-13, 25-22, 25-22 win over Occidental on Saturday evening at Rush Gymnasium.
La Verne improves to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the SCIAC. Oxy falls to 4-8 and 1-3.
Robinson registered 10 kills and committed just two errors on 21 swings (.381), had two digs and had 1.5 blocks.
Lynch had a match-high 14 kills on 32 attempts, served up an ace and had one solo block.
The Leopards blitzed the Tigers with an early 8-0 run keyed by four kills from Robinson to run away with the first set.
The final two sets were closer as Oxy hit .370 and .225 in the second and the third sets, respectively, but the Tigers committed seven service errors in the two sets to put themselves at a disadvantage.
The Tigers grabbed an 11-8 lead in the third set and led as late as 19-16. But La Verne ripped off a 7-0 behind a pair of kills by Marisa Rojo and a couple of aces from Sarah Yauchtzee to take a 23-19 lead and never looked back.
Tiffany Mancuso, who is ranked second in the nation in assists per set, facilitated the offense with 38 on the evening. Kristen Sanchez led all players with 20 kills and had three digs.
Kaylee Johnson was effective off the bench, notching six kills on 12 atempts.
Claire Strohm led Oxy with 13 kills and Amanda Herold had eight.
The Leopards return to action on Friday at home against the defending national champion Cal Lutheran. First serve is at 7 p.m.