SCIAC Tournament: 5 things to know

THE MATCHUP

The third-seeded Chapman University women's volleyball team heads to Claremont, Calif on Thursday to take on the second-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens at 7 p.m. The two teams split the season series with each team sweeping the home match. Pomona-Pitzer finished the SCIAC season 13-3 with two losses to CMS and a season-opening loss to the Panthers. Chapman finished 10-6.

SO SOON?

The Panthers and Sagehens will meet for the second time in six days when the teams lineup on Thursday. The two teams bookended the SCIAC season against each other as Chapman swept a Sep. 21 matchup in Hutton Sports Center and Pomona-Pitzer swept the Oct. 30 matchup in Roberts Pavilion. The Sagehens have been without a home this season due to the construction on the Rains Center. The semifinal match will be played in the Linde Activities Center on the campus of Harvey Mudd College.

COLLECTING THE MILESTONES

After a year off due to the pandemic, the Panthers racked up the milestones in 2021. Senior Sophie Srivastava ran her career total to 31 triple-doubles – the most of any player since the NCAA began tracking the statistic in 2014. Fellow senior captain Jessi Lumsden slammed down her 1,000th career kill on Saturday in the regular season finale against Pomona-Pitzer. Junior Cat Helgeson also recorded her 1,000th dig this season in a four-set win over Occidental.

HISTORIC AWARD SEASON

For the first time in program history, the SCIAC Athlete of the Year plays for Chapman University. Sophie Srivastava was named the Player of the Year for the conference after another season of doing a bit of everything. The senior ranks second among all players in all three divisions of the NCAA with 10 triple-doubles. She has had double digit triple-doubles in all three of her season on the court at Chapman. Jessi Lumsden made a bit of history of her own as the first Chapman player to be selected to the All-SCIAC First Team three times.

COMING IN HOT

The Panthers swept Pomona-Pitzer to start the SCIAC season but the Sagehens have been on a tear since then. Led by SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Year Lauren Asato, the Sagehens had three All-SCIAC selections with outside hitter Chloe Gill joining Asato on the First Team and middle blocker Grace Fan being selected to the Second Team. The Sagehens won seven of their last eight matches heading into the tournament including sweeps in four of their last five.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChpmanSports