Volleyball sweeps Southwestern in 2018 home-opener

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's volleyball team breezed past visiting Southwestern for a 25-17, 25-11, 25-19 victory. Freshman Sophie Srivastava led the Panthers with a strong all-around effort.

With the win, the Panthers went through their first week with a 4-1 record. Srivastava was a breakout star for the week, earning All-Tournament honors at the Pacific Coast Classic. She continued to shine on Tuesday with eight kills on .412 hitting, 18 assists, 14 digs and three total blocks.

Chapman was dominant on both sides of the net, hitting .306 as a team in the sweep while limiting the Pirates to just .055 hitting. Senior Courtney Justus hit .389 in the match with seven kills to go along with 15 digs. Freshman Jessi Lumsden also had eight kills.

The Panthers had a pair of four-point runs in the first set to pull away for the win and never trailed after falling behind 3-2 early on. In the second set, the Panthers used a seven-point run to turn a 10-8 lead into a 17-8 lead. They held Southwestern to a negative hitting percentage in the set while hitting .455 as a team.

Southwestern looked to turn things around in the third set in hopes to avoid the sweep. One of their two blocks in the match gave the Pirates a 4-1 lead early on. However, Justus slammed down two kills to fuel a four-point run that saw the Panthers claim the lead. After that, Chapman methodically pulled away and eventually opened a 20-14 lead on the way to the sweep-clinching win.

Chapman heads to the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational next weekend for another busy four-match weekend.

By Steven Olveda         
Sports Information Director

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