LA VERNE, Calif. — The No. 23 University of La Verne volleyball team beat Caltech and Austin in a rare non-tournament doubleheader on Saturday at Sports Science and Athletic Pavilion

With the wins, La Verne improves to 13-2 overall and 7-1 in the SCIAC.

Game 1: La Verne 3, Caltech 0

The Leopards hit .420 as a group and held Caltech to -.161 in a dominant 25-9, 25-7, 25-9 win in the first match of the day.

Brittany Yaxley led the way with nine kills in 15 attempts and the Leopards got contribution from up and down the roster as seven different players notched at least three kills.

La Verne also registered 15 aces as a team, with Yaxley leading the way with four.

The Leopards' freshmen shined in extended action. Katelyn Winiecki put away four kills in six attempts and had a block. Danielle Ridewood had three kills in four attempts and had two blocks. Kelsie Sievers recorded two blocks and Sarah Yachzee recorded a match-high 10 digs.

La Verne was completely dominant throughout. The Leopards finished the first set on an 8-0 run and held the Beavers without a kill in the second set. The third set started out a little closer but La Verne pulled away with a 10-2 run midway through the final set.

La Verne returns to action later tonight at 6 p.m. when it hosts Austin.

Game 2: La Verne 3, Austin 1

Yaxley had 15 kills, Delaney Lynch had a season-high 14 and the University of La Verne volleyball team defeated Austin, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19, in the nightcap.

Freshman Lauren Bonaldo split time with Tiffany Mancuso at the setter spot and handed out a season-high 23 assists. Mancuo had 26.

The Leopards used a 4-1 run aided by two kill from Lynch to create the first separation in the first set and hung on to win.

The Roos claimed the second set as they took advantage of sloppy hitting by the Leopards late in the set. Austin finished the second set on an 8-3 run helped by four La Verne errors.

Both teams went back-and-forth with big runs in the third but La Verne held the final advantage. The Leopards rattled off six straight points, including four consecutive from Yaxley, but the Roos came back with a 7-1 run of their own to grab a 17-16 lead. Yaxley then started a 6-1 La Verne run and Destinee Sales, Ashlyn Cross and Cassie Thompson finished it off with three consecutive kills to set up the set point, which was put away by Thompson.

La Verne used a 6-0 run midway through the fourth and final set to create a seven-point cushion and never looked back.

Up next

The Leopards will take a break from SCIAC action next week as they host the annual Leopard Invitational on Oct. 9-10. The Leopards will take on No. 1 Juniata and UC Santa Cruz on Saturday.