Volleyball clinches SCIAC Tournament berth with 3-0 sweep over Oxy

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's volleyball team clinched a spot in the SCIAC postseason tournament this afternoon with a 25-19, 29-27, 25-14 sweep over Occidental (13-12, 8-8 SCIAC). This marks their first postseason appearance in four years.

The Panthers (16-10, 10-6 SCIAC) came out strong on senior night, as senior Kiley McGill tallied the first kill of the match. The two teams traded points for the next few serves, but four unanswered points for Chapman put them ahead by three. After five points in a row from the Tigers, junior Lauren Friend led the offense, tallying two huge kills to help the Panthers to a 15-12 lead.

Chapman kept the lead for the remainder of the set, scoring four points in a row to widen the gap at the end of the set. A kill by senior Abby Smith and an Occidental error gave Chapman the push to take the first set.

The Tigers took the lead early in the second set, but two service aces by junior Jessica Blum and a kill by Smith put the Panthers back in front. Chapman led by as much as six points in the middle of the set thanks to three crucial kills from Friend, but a few Panther errors brought Occidental right back in the game.

The Tigers came back to tie the set seven times before Chapman was able to seal the deal. Smith tallied a kill to make the score 28-27, and an error from Occidental put the Panthers up 29-27, taking the set.

The third and final set was all Panther action. Chapman went on a 7-0 run in the middle of the set to make the score 21-12. Kills by McGill, junior Courtney Justus, and a service ace from senior Cheri Raymundo led the Panthers to match point. Senior Claire Strohm attacked the ball into the net, giving Chapman the sweep and the bid into the SCIAC Tournament.

Friend led the Panthers at the net, tallying 16 kills on .560 hitting and recording four blocks. Smith was right behind her with 12 kills, while senior Kylie Cooke also tallied four blocks.

With the win, Chapman enters the SCIAC postseason tournament for the first time since the 2013 season. They will take on the No. 1 seed, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, in the first round of playoffs.

by Katie Bell
Sports Information Assistant

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