Chapman sweeps past La Verne in SCIAC volleyball semifinal
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The rubber match between nationally-ranked teams went the way of No. 21 Chapman University as the Panthers used a potent and consistent attack to turn back No. 25 University of La Verne in three sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-22) in the semifinals of the SCIAC Postseason Volleyball Tournament on Thursday in Thousand Oaks.
The Panthers (23-5) advance to Saturday's championship match against top-seed and host No. 8 Cal Lutheran. The match will take place in Thousand Oaks at 6 p.m. with the winner earning the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Chapman and Cal Lutheran split a pair of regular season matches, with each winning on the other's home floor.
Chapman started strong, opening a lead of 7-3 before going up 11-5 to force a Leopard timeout. La Verne closed within three on four different occasions before the Panthers later scored three consecutive points to take an 18-12 advantage to force a second La Verne timeout. The Leopards crept within three at 23-20, but a kill from junior OH McKenna Roice gave CU a set point, and a kill from sophomore MB Val Geiger would close out the stanza with a 25-21 verdict in favor of the Panthers.
La Verne (21-5) opened the second set on the strength of a pair of blocks and a service ace from Monica Lopez to take an early 7-2 lead to force a Panther timeout. The Leos extended the advantage to 9-2 before Chapman's serve and defense propelled an emphatic 8-0 run to take a 13-10 advantage. Chapman continued to keep the Leopards off balance and pushed its lead to five at 16-11. La Verne used a run of 4-0 to cut the deficit to a point at 19-18 to force a Panthers timeout. A kill from Sales tied at frame at 19, but Chapman responded with three straight points to go up 22-19. Chapman eventually closed out the set with a kill from senior OH Ashleigh Gideon to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
Chapman went up early 5-2 before the Leopards used a 5-1 run to take a 7-6 advantage. The Panthers regained the momentum and took a 10-7 lead, eventually stretching their cushion to 15-9. The Leos edged within two at 16-14 and later 17-16 to force a Panther timeout. The Leos went up 19-17 on a kill from Destinee Sales. Chapman bounced back to tie at 21 and took the lead on a Gideon kill to seize a 22-21 advantage. Back-to back kills from senior MB Kate Ferrin pushed the lead to 24-21 and a point later the Panthers ended it on a kill from Roice to complete the sweep.
Gideon led the Panthers who hit .421 and posted a match-high 17 kills. Geiger added 10 kills with Ferrin totaling nine for Chapman. Junior S Corrine Ostrovsky tallied 29 assists in the victory. Yaxley paced La Verne with 15 terminations on her way to a .433 hitting clip. Sales and Kayla Cribbs each registered six kills while Morgan Donahue collected a match-high 16 digs.
by Will Darity
La Verne Sports Information Director
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wvball/2012-13/boxscores/20121101_aria.xml
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