Chapman sweeps La Sierra in Hutton Center return

ORANGE, Calif. - Playing in its first home match in exactly one month, the Chapman University women's volleyball team defeated visiting La Sierra University 25-9, 25-4, 25-6 at the Hutton Sports Center on Thursday night. The Panthers have now won six of their past eight matches.

The victory was the Panthers' 17th of the season tying the program's most wins since 1994. Chapman also won 17 matches in 2004 and '07, but has not surpassed that total since winning 23 matches in 1994.

The Panthers hadn't played in home match since Sept. 29 and played their previous 13 matches all on the road. Chapman went 7-6 in that span before returning home Thursday.

Chapman (17-13) appeared cozy in front of the home crowd and earned its highest attack percentage as a team in over 10 years, hitting .534 in the three games against La Sierra. The Panthers had 36 kills with just five errors in 58 attacks. It was Chapman's highest hitting percentage since it hit .587 in a three-game sweep over Redlands in October 1999.

The Panthers also served extremely well, recording a season-high 12 aces in the match.

Leading the way offensively for the Panthers was junior OH Kela Powers who had nine kills. Freshmen Laura Posada and Renee Roth each finished with six kills for Chapman. Junior S Kat Kowalski and sophomore S Shannon Lee combined for 32 assists. Lee led the Panthers with four service aces while senior OH Erin DeRycke added three.

The Panthers' 25-4 win in Game 2 was their largest margin of victory this season. The three-game sweep was Chapman's second against La Sierra this season and the 11th sweep of the season.

Box score: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wvball/2009-10/stats/lsu-cu.htm