By Cyanna Rosa
Orange, CA - The University of La Verne volleyball team faced Chapman University at the Hutton Sports Center tonight. La Verne played a strong game, showing signs of refinement three weeks into the season. La Verne dominated the court with a 3-1 match win (21-25), (25-20), (25-21), (25-12) on the road.
The Leopards had a powerful offense and a sturdy defense with some great play from the players. Leopard junior, Ayana Mier, had another astonishing night, with a 38.5% kill percentage. Mier had a similar night at the beginning of the month with a 46.4% kill percentage, both breathtaking games. Kari Esseff held her team down with 12 block assists, ultimately preventing a second set win for the Panthers.
The Leopards fell short halfway through the first set, but steadied the flow for the rest of the game, minimizing errors for Set 2. La Verne held the lead for all 25 points, with the biggest lead being 15-9. La Verne won the set after Mya Ray's serve went untouched. The third set mimicked the second set with the Leopards never losing sight of the lead. Mya Ray led the team to victory tallying the last three Leopards points with her three kills.
Chapman scored the first two points of the fourth and final set, but they did not score again for another 9 points from La Verne. Chapman scored three straight points, but La Verne retaliated with 5 straight points, making the game 15-5. The final set was an untouchable win for the Leopards, resulting in a 25-12 set score.
The Leopards will compete in their last game of September at home this Friday at 7:00 PM against Caltech.