Panthers earn 18th victory for seniors in finale

ORANGE, Calif. - The Chapman University women's volleyball team won its 18th match of the season - the most the Panthers have won in 15 years - with a three-game sweep over visiting Hope International University, 25-14, 25-19, 25-21 at the Hutton Sports Center on Thursday night. It was Chapman's regular season finale and ‘Senior Night' for the Panthers, who won their fifth straight home match.

The Panthers turned an early Game 1 deficit around and never looked back. Hope International (6-22) led 10-7 in the first game only to see Chapman go on an 18-4 run to close out the set 25-14. The Panthers never trailed in the second game, and only once (2-1) in Game 3, but not without overcoming several long rallies in the process.

Senior OHs Eryn Leja and Lyndsey Cargile led Chapman (18-13) with 13 and 10 kills apiece after being honored prior to the start of their final career home match. Senior OH Erin DeRycke was also honored and finished the match with a pair of kills and eight digs.

Once again, it was senior libero Linda Ly who made the big defensive stops, tallying 34 digs in the three games to run her record-breaking season total to 804 this year. The senior currently ranks No. 2 in Division III this season with 7.81 digs per game.

Chapman also played one of its best defensive games of the year, earning nine blocks in the match including four each from sophomore MB Nalani Haviland and freshman MB Lauren Crawford.

The sweep was the Panthers' 12th of the season. Chapman's 18 victories are the most since the Panthers went 23-9 in 1994 - their first season in Division III. They will await the NCAA tournament selections on Sunday to find out if their 18 victories are enough for a postseason playoff berth.

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