Leopards beat Regals in five on the road

Leopards beat Regals in five on the road

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Four Leopards finished with double-digit kills and the No. 24 University of La Verne women's volleyball team beat the Cal Lutheran Regals on the road 3-2.

Set Scores: 25-22, 25-12, 20-25, 23-25, 15-13

Season Impact: The Leopards earn their first win at Cal Lutheran since 2008 and sweep the Regals in the regular season. La Verne improves to 14-5 overall and 7-2 in SCIAC play. Cal Lutheran drops to 8-10 overall and 4-5 in SCIAC play.

With Cal Lutheran leading 13-12 in the final set, Katelyn Winiecki tied the game on an assist by Madison Maynes.

Kelsie Sievers then put down a kill to give the Leopards the first lead of the set. Natalie Barragan closed out the game on an ace for the win. La Verne finished the match on a 6-2 run. 

Marisa Rojo had a big a big all-around game for the Leopards. The senior led her squad with 16 kills to go with 17 digs and three blocks. 

Alexia Balistreri finished with a career-high 15 kills. Winiecki and Kelsie Sievers both added 10 kills. Winiecki also recorded three blocks.

After winning a close opening set, the Leopards dominated the second set, benefitting off poor hitting from the Regals and closing the frame on a 15-5 run.

Cal Lutheran battled back to force a fifth set and took a 3-0 lead in the final set to give the Leopards a scare. But the Leopards cut the deficit to one off back-to-back kills by Balistreri and Lynch before taking the lead late in the set.

Kristen Sanchez led the Leopards defensively, finishing with a game-high 25 digs. Delaney Lynch put down nine kills and Kiana Valdivieso added five.

Next Game: The Leopards return home to face Redlands on Friday, October 13 at 7 p.m. The Leopards beat the Bulldogs 3-1 earlier this season at Redlands.