Photo by Shane Rodrigues

By Joe Perrino, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

LA VERNE, CA — On the final afternoon of the 2021 fall season, the La Verne volleyball team looked to end on a high note against the Occidental Tigers, and that's exactly what they did. They posted a thrilling 3-2 victory (22-25, 25-18, 25-17, 20-25, 15-6) at home Saturday afternoon. 

While the Leopards didn't hold any seniors — on what would have been senior day — the eldest members of the team stepped up when it mattered most.

In the fifth set, junior setter Emily Heldenbrand sent the Tigers packing with a service ace and kill in the final two points to seal the victory.

Her classmate, junior Ayana Mier, was a force to be reckoned with at the net collecting a game-high 18 kills and three block assists. Her and Heldenbrand combined for 29 of the Leos 60 kills. 

The Leopards started out sluggish, getting hit with a 13-3 run in the middle of the first set finding them down 21-16. They wouldn't recover and sound themselves in a 0-1 hole.

However, the team bounced back and took the next two sets. After being down 10-5 to start the second, it looked bleak for the Leos, but they added a run themselves. A 14-1 run put them up 19-11 and set the tone for the remainder of the set. Mier spearheaded the turnaround with three kills during that run.

The third set faced a little more back and forth action, no team led by more than eight, but a hot start kept the Leos ahead as the whole team provided sparks — from a service ace to open the set by Ha'ani Untalan, to a solo block from freshman Noelani Soma — La Verne looked to be on fire.

The flame fizzled out, however, early in the fourth set. After a 6-1 run to start the set the Leos looked to take the match, but after three straight blocks from the Occidental senior pair of Theresa Nevins and Kame Quetta-Hall in their final volleyball game, the Tigers found themselves out in front for the first time since early in the second set. 

Occidental took the fourth rather convincingly, leaving it up to a 15-point fifth set. 

The Leos came ready, rocketing out to a 9-1 lead. The two teams traded the next few points notching the score at 12-6. As the air felt like it had been taken out of the Tents, La Verne brought it right back in snatching the next three points and the victory.

La Verne finished its season at 10-13 overall, and 6-10 in SCIAC, and Occidental fell to 8-15 and 4-12. 

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Pomona-Pitzer, Chapman and Cal Lutheran are the top four teams in the SCIAC and will move on to the SCIAC tournament with hopes to make the NCAA tournament. 

While it wasn't the season the Leopards hoped for, they did end the season on a three-game win streak and improved their hitting percentage by nearly 10 points from Oct. 12 to the end of the season.

The Leos look to return all players from this season and are ready for the 2022 fall season.