Experienced roster leads volleyball team into 2018 season

ORANGE, Calif. – Plenty of experience will lead the Chapman University volleyball team into the 2018 season. Chapman's roster features six seniors and 11 returners this season – all of which helped the Panthers to a SCIAC Tournament berth in 2017.

The Panthers went 16-11 last year and made the SCIAC Tournament after finishing in a three-way tie for third in the conference standings. With plenty of experienced starters returning, Chapman has their sights set on a return to the tournament and beyond.

Senior Lauren Friend returns to anchor the Panthers at the net after an All-SCIAC season a year ago. The six-foot middle blocker has been a force on both sides of the net, ranking as one of the top blockers in the SCIAC as well as ranking near the top in hitting percentage.

Senior Courtney Justus also brings plenty of experience back to the floor at outside hitter. She cracked the starting lineup as a sophomore and has knocked down over 200 kills and recorded over 200 digs in each of the last two seasons.

Two senior setters will also return to the floor in Jessica Blum and Kaitlyn Raymundo. The two have split time on the floor and will look to continue the system in 2018 with three incoming setters also joining them on the roster this season.

In the back row, senior Sara Utsugi returns after spending the majority of the last couple years at libero. She has averaged over 3.5 digs per set in each year of her career and could reach the 1,000 dig milestone with a big year in 2018.

Even with a large senior class and plenty of returners, head coach Mary Cahill brought in six freshmen and two transfers to fill out the roster and compete for playing time. The talented incoming class will look to make an immediate impact on the floor in helping the Panthers reach the SCIAC Tournament.

The Panthers caught fire at the end of the 2017 season to surge into the postseason, winning five of their last six regular season matches. A successful 2017 campaign featured wins over every team in the SCIAC Tournament, including the eventual national champions Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Despite a number of impressive wins in conference play and plenty of experience back on the floor, the Panthers were picked to finish fifth in the conference behind CMS, Cal Lutheran, La Verne and Whittier.

Chapman opens up the season with four matches at the Pacific Coast Classic this weekend and makes its home debut with a Tuesday matinee against Southwestern on Sep. 4 at 2 p.m.

By Steven Olveda                                        
Sports Information Director

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