What a difference a week makes.

The University of La Verne volleyball team earned a berth in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament with a resounding 3-0 sweep over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the regular season finale Tuesday night at Ducey Gymnasium.

Set scores were 25-22, 25-16, 25-23.

La Verne's sweep over CMS capped a week in which the Leopards (18-10, 8-6 SCIAC) jumped from sixth place to a third-place tie in the conference standings during a four-match span.

As a result, the Leopards earn the #3 seed in this weekend's SCIAC Postseason Tournament in Thousand Oaks, where they will face #2 seed Occidental in one semifinal.  The other semifinal pits regular season champ and #1 seed Cal Lutheran against fourth-seeded Sagehens.

Heading into Tuesday night, both La Verne and Pomona-Pitzer sat in a fourth-place tie at 7-6 behind CMS at 8-5.  A potential three-way tie between the schools brought about several tiebreaking scenarios which included set win differential.  

To reach the SCIAC Tourney, the Leopards needed to defeat CMS in either three sets or four sets. 

La Verne responded with the three-set triumph over the Athenas, eliminating CMS from postseason play while Pomona-Pitzer, a three-set winner over Caltech, also advances to the conference tournament.

Against CMS, the Leopards hit .288 on the night and held the Athenas to a .189 clip. 

In the first set, the Leos jumped out to an early lead, withstood a run by the Athenas, and pulled away to claim a 25-22 set win to go up 1-0.  La Verne hit .298 (19 kills) compared to .225 for CMS in the first frame.

The Leopards dominated the second set, holding the Athenas to a .073 hitting percentage en route to a 25-16 win to seize a 2-0 set advantage.

In the third frame, CMS would go up in the early stages but the Leos held firm and continued to battle back, eventually pulling away late to take the set and the match.  As in the first set, the Leopards hit .298 in the final frame.

Randi Taylor-Toomay collected a team-high 14 kills while Anna Calmer hit .370 on the evening, collecting 13 kills.  Setter Kendall Kraiss registered 37 assists with teammate Morgan Donahue collecting 22 digs.

Emily Hudson posted a match-high 16 kills for CMS in defeat.  The Athenas fell to 18-11 and 8-6 in league play.

La Verne extends its win streak to six consecutive matches.  The Leos have also won seven of its last eight contests.