Home sweep home: Volleyball gets first home win

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University volleyball team eliminated a huge monkey from its back, earning its first home victory of 2010 with a three-game sweep over visiting Moravian College (Pa.) 25-23, 25-14, 25-18 at the Hutton Center on Friday night. The Panthers had lost their first four matches, but snapped that losing streak with the win.

Chapman (8-9) tied a season-high with nine service aces and hit .293 as a team (46 kills, 12 errors) – the Panthers' second-highest hitting percentage of the year.

The Panthers controlled the tempo for most of the match, but almost saw the first set slip away after an early 8-3 lead. Chapman maintained a 4-5 point cushion for most of the set until Moravian (12-7) rallied to tie the match at 23-23. However, a kill by freshman OH Lena Buckendorf and a Moravian attack error sealed the 25-23 win and set a positive tone for the Panthers for the remainder of the match. Buckendorf finished with nine kills and 15 digs.

Chapman's serving game aided a second set victory as the Panthers recorded six aces in the game, including three from freshman OH Mady Dahlstrom. The rookie also earned seven of her match-high 13 kills in the second set to lead Chapman to a 25-14 decision.

In the third set, the Panthers' offense was most efficient, hitting .343 as a team and putting away the Greyhounds 25-18 to complete the sweep. Junior libero Alyssa Swatek recorded eight of her match-high 18 digs in the final set. It was Chapman's third three-game sweep of the season.

Senior S Kat Kowalski and freshman S Corrine Ostrovsky combined for 36 assists for Chapman. Freshman OH McKenna Roice also added nine kills.

For Moravian, OH Katie Moquete recorded a team-high 12 kills.

The Panthers have won three of their past four matches following a six-match losing streak in mid-September. Chapman will hit the road for six of its next seven matches, but will be home on Tuesday, Oct. 12 to host Whittier College at 7 p.m.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wvball/2010-11/files/mor-cu.htm