The University of La Verne volleyball team recovered from a 1-0 set deficit to earn a 3-1 triumph over Pomona-Pitzer in SCIAC action Saturday evening in Claremont.
With the win the Leopards (17-10, 7-6 SCIAC) extended its win streak to five consecutive matches and moved into a tie with the Sagehens (17-11, 7-6 SCIAC) for fourth place in the SCIAC standings heading into the final regular season match.
La Verne dropped the first set, falling 25-23 as the Hens hit .275 in the opening frame. The Leos bounced back with a definitive 25-14 win in the second set in holding Pomona-Pitzer to a -.114 percentage (35 TA, 5 K, 9 E) to even the match at a set apiece.
In the third set, the Leopards pulled away in the later stages to claim a 25-20 win to go up 2-1 on the Hens.
Pomona-Pitzer built a 3-point advantage in the fourth stanza and held a 19-16 advantage before the Leos rallied to tie at 21-21. La Verne would take the next two points to lead 23-21. Leading 24-23, the Leopards would claim victory on a Sagehen hitting error to prevail 25-23 to win the match in four sets.
Three Leopard players reached double-figures in kills led by Anna Calmer with 15, followed by Randi Taylor-Toomay with 14 and Catie Logan with 13. Kendall Kraiss tallied a match-high 49 assists for the Leos.
Eleanor Hughes collected a match-high 17 kills for Pomona-Pitzer in the loss.
The Leopards conclude the regular season Tuesday night as they return to Claremont to battle the Athenas of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Both La Verne and Pomona-Pitzer trail CMS (8-5) by a game in the SCIAC standings. The top four teams in the conference qualify for this weekend's SCIAC Postseason Tournament in Thousand Oaks.