Volleyball continues hot start with four-set win

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University volleyball team became the first SCIAC team to defeat Pomona-Pitzer by a score of 25-22, 25-12, 24-26, 25-22. The Panthers improved to 13-2 on the season and 4-1 in SCIAC play.

Chapman's freshmen – Jessi Lumsden and Sophie Srivastava – continued to lead the Panthers through one of its best starts in school history. Lumsden pounded down 18 kills on .424 hitting while Srivastava turned in another triple-double. She had 28 assists, 11 kills and 10 digs to go along with three aces and four blocks.

The Panthers started strong with senior Sara Utsugi serving up six consecutive points to open a 10-5 lead in the opening set. Fellow senior Lauren Friend three down three of her 13 kills in succession during the run. Friend hit .524 on the night with three total blocks.

Chapman stayed out in front the rest of the first set and held off a late push to take a 1-0 advantage in the match. The second set was all Panthers as they held the Sagehens (6-7, 4-1 SCIAC) to just .154 hitting while scorching the visitors with a .593 hitting percentage in the set. Srivastava served five points in a row to open an initial 9-3 lead. Junior Nayelli Munoz and senior Courtney Justus put up three big solo blocks in a row to fuel another run that opened a 17-7 lead. Munoz had five blocks to lead the Panthers at the net.

Both teams proved to be tough at the net all night as Chapman had nine total blocks in the match while Pomona-Pitzer had 10 total blocks.

Momentum swung in the third set as Pomona-Pitzer went up early and held off a couple of Chapman pushes to extend the match into four sets. The Sagehens went back up early in the fourth but Chapman battled back to take an 11-10 lead on a Lumsden kill. The Panthers began to pull away with a 20-16 lead after a couple of Sagehen attacking errors, but the visitors fought right back within one.

After a serve went long, Lumsden slammed down a kill and was followed by freshman Ashley Warmenhoven's ace for a 23-19 lead. The Sagehens continued to battle to keep their hopes alive in the match but Lumsden slammed down the final two kills to clinch the match for Chapman.

The Panthers hit .248 as a team in the match while holding the Sagehens to .171 hitting. Isabella Kelly led Pomona-Pitzer with 14 kills.

The Panthers head to Cal Lutheran on Friday for a 7 p.m. match before returning home on Saturday to take on La Verne at 4 p.m.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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