LA VERNE, CA — The Leopards battled all night and the University of La Verne volleyball team forced a fifth set with No. 5 and defending NCAA National Champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. But despite playing an excellent match, the Leopards fell in the final set, dropping the match 3-2.
Set Scores: 25-19, 26-28, 25-21, 15-25, 15-13
Stat Leaders
Senior Kelsie Sievers led the Leopards with 19 kills to go with five block assists. Madison Maynes played an excellent game, finishing with 46 assists, 21 digs, and a pair of kills.
La Verne finished with a season-high 15 aces in the game. Haley Celaya led the way with four with Kristen Sanchez, Sabrina Sullivan, and Maynes each added three.
Sanchez also added 21 digs. Katelyn Winiecki put down 13 kills and freshman Julia Trujillo added 14 digs.
How it Happened
The Athenas won the first and third sets, but La Verne responded each time winning the second and fourth frames.
In the second, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps jumped out to an early 10-6 lead, but the Leopards chipped away at the deficit getting to within two points of Athenas' lead after a big block by Emma Estigoy and Winiecki. The Leopards grabbed the lead after they benefitted from a pair of errors by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and took a seven-point lead with a Maynes to Winiecki connection.
The Athenas battled back forcing extra points, but with the set tied 26-26 Winiecki and Sievers put down back-to-back kills to even the match 1-1.
After the Athenas jumped back in front with a 25-21 win in the third set, the Leopards played a dominant fourth set, hitting .345 in the frame. La Verne took a 15 point lead after a Sievers and Briana Voght block brought up set point. After a short run by the Athenas, Sievers put the set away with a kill.
Deciding Set
The Athenas opened the fifth set with an 8-6 lead but La Verne quickly rallied to tie the score 8-8. The two squads went back and forth until a kill by Sievers and an attack error by the Athenas gave the Leopards a 12-11 advantage.
But Claremont-Mudd-Scripps went on a 4-1 run to end the match.
Season Impact
The Leopards, who have played five teams ranked in the top-15, moved to 5-5 on the season and 1-1 in SCIAC play. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps improved to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the SCIAC.
Next Game
The Leopards next take on the Bulldogs when they travel to Redlands this Friday for a 7 p.m. match.
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— La Verne Volleyball (@LaVerneVBall) September 19, 2018
