Chapman rallies to defeat Occidental

ORANGE, Calif. - The Chapman University women's volleyball team rallied from a 1-0 deficit to beat Occidental College 17-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-22 Friday night at the Hutton Sports Center. Sophomore Courtney Justus and junior Kylie Cooke led the Panthers with 17 and 14 kills respectively on the night, while sophomore Lindsey Johnson recorded a career-high 18 digs.

The Panthers dropped the first set 25-17 after staying even with the Tigers for the first few points. Occidental junior Amanda Herald served three aces in a row to put Occidental up 19-14, which proved to be the turning point in the set.

Occidental came out swinging in the second set, getting four points in a row to take an early 10-6 lead. The two teams then went point-for-point in the middle of the set, with the Tigers keeping a steady lead of three points throughout. A huge rally went the Panthers' way, making the score 15-13 Occidental. Sophomore Lauren Friend helped from the serving position to lead the Panthers nine-point run. Junior Cheri Raymundo served an ace on set point to give the Panthers the 25-20 win.

Chapman and Occidental went point-for-point throughout the third set, with nine lead changes and 18 ties between the two sides. Justus and Friend combined on a big block to tie the score at 14-all. The Tigers scored two in a row after a timeout to make the score 19-19. Cooke had the set-winning kill to charge the Panthers to a 26-24 win.

Chapman took a hard-fought fourth set 25-22 after going point-for-point again with Occidental. Junior Kaitlyn Raymundo served two aces to give the Panthers a 17-14 lead in the middle of the set. The Tigers answered Chapman's four-point run with three points of their own to make the score 19-17. The Panthers then went on to score three unanswered points to take the set and match.

The Panthers (10-10 overall, 5-6 SCIAC) will take a trip to the University of La Verne on Saturday afternoon. Chapman returns home on Tuesday, Oct. 18 to face off against Cal Lutheran.

by Katie Bell & Raquel Rinauro
Sports Information Intern & Sports Information Assistant

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