Volleyball takes down another ranked team in a five-set thriller

ORANGE, Calif. – Senior Kylie Cooke slammed down an over pass to complete a come-from-behind 25-20, 22-25, 14-25, 25-20, 15-9 win over visiting La Verne on Saturday. With the win over the 24th-ranked Leopards, the Panthers defeated a ranked team on their home floor for the second time this year.

After capturing the first set, the Panthers (13-10, 7-6 SCIAC) dropped the next two to put their backs against the wall. As the fourth set progressed, the Panthers trailed by as many as four points at 14-10 and found themselves down late 20-19. Cooke threw down a kill to tie the set up at 20-20 and junior Kaitlyn Raymundo preceded to serve the next five points as the Panthers forced a decisive fifth set.

Junior Lauren Friend fueled the late rally with a kill and two blocks during the stretch. She finished the match with a team-high 15 kills and five total blocks. Cooke hit .385 with 14 kills and junior Courtney Justus had 13 kills.

Chapman seized the opportunity with momentum on their side to jump out to a big, early lead in the fifth set. Raymundo was again at the service line and Friend was again clutch in the middle. She hit three kills with Cooke and junior Kiley McGill adding in a kill each during a five-point run that saw Chapman build a 9-3 lead. La Verne never came closer than four point through the rest of the set as Chapman completed its third five-set victory over a ranked team this season.

Raymundo had 26 assists and six digs while junior Sara Utsugi had 25 digs. Justus added in 11 digs to go along with her 13 kills for her fourth double-double of the season.

With the win, Chapman keeps its hopes for a berth in the SCIAC Tournament alive as it stays a game behind Cal Lutheran in fifth place.

Chapman is back home on Wednesday to take on Caltech before finishing the regular season at Pomona-Pitzer on Friday and back home against Occidental on Saturday.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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