CLAREMONT, Calif. — No. 24 La Verne volleyball team fell in the regular season finale in straight sets to Pomona-Pitzer, 25-22, 25-19, 25-20, on Saturday afternoon at Voelkel Gymnasium.

How it happened: The Leopards never got into an offensive rhythm. La Verne hit .270 in the first set, but couldn't find the attacking lanes in the last two sets as it hit .175 and .098 in the final two sets.

Pomona-Pitzer grabbed control first in a back-and-forth first set. The Sagehens went on a 5-0 run aided by three La Verne attacking errors to take a 21-17 lead but the Leopards responded immediately by grabbing five of the next six points using four Brittany Yaxley kills to tie the set at 22-22. However, the Sagehens wrestled the momentum back to finish the set on a 3-0 and claim the set.

The teams traded points again to start the second but the Sagehens used a big 7-0 run late to take a 24-18 lead and win the set, 25-19.

After falling down 4-1 to start the third, the Leopards regrouped and claimed five straight points to take a 6-4 lead. But La Verne could not string together any points the rest of the way as it found itself in a seven-point hole late in the set and never recovered.

What it means: La Verne drops to 20-5 overall and 12-4 in SCIAC play. La Verne finishes the regular season third in SCIAC and will face No. 18 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the semifinal of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament.

Players of the game: Yaxley hit an incredible .500 in 30 attempts. The junior registered a team-high 15 kills and had both of La Verne's two service aces.

Kelsi Robinson finished with eight kills and Destinee Sales had five.

Pomona-Pitzer's Allie Frappier knocked down a match-high 21 kills.

Up next: La Verne will travel to No. 1 seed and SCIAC Postseason Tournament host Cal Lutheran on Nov. 6 to take on the Athenas. First serve is at 5 p.m.