Sixth straight suits Panthers in sweep of Bates

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University women's volleyball team won its season-high sixth straight match, sweeping visiting Bates College (Maine) 25-15, 25-14, 25-16 at the Hutton Sports Center on Thursday night. The Panthers have now won 10 of their last 12 overall, including three in a row at home.

Chapman (15-10) controlled the first set, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and never trailed. Freshman OH Mady Dahlstrom led the Panthers' offense, recording 13 kills in the match, six of which came in the first set.

The Bobcats (7-15) played much closer in the second set, knotting the score at seven before consecutive kills by sophomore MB Kate Ferrin put the Panthers ahead for good. Ferrin also reached double figures with 10 kills in the match.

Down 13-11 in the third set, Chapman rallied for six straight points to seal the set – and the match – 25-16. The Panthers recorded a hitting percentage of .370 in the final set (14 kills, four errors, 27 total attacks) and hit .303 for the match. It was the second straight match Chapman's offense has been over .300 in hitting after failing to reach that mark in the previous 23 matches.

Freshman S Corrine Ostrovsky led the Chapman offense with 20 assists while junior libero Alyssa Swatek tallied a match-high 16 digs for the Panthers.

Chapman clinched a winning record for the eighth straight year with three matches remaining. The Panthers have just two home matches left in the regular season, including a return to the Hutton Center tomorrow night to host Southwestern College (Ariz.) at 7 p.m.

Watch head coach Mary Cahill's postgame interview on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chapman-University-Athletics/203978513175#!/video/video.php?v=1685798264041

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

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Ofelia "Faye" Cruz
May 26, 1974 – October 15, 2010

Chapman women's basketball and volleyball alumnae Ofelia "Faye" Cruz passed away on Oct. 15 after a five-year battle with cancer. Cruz graduated from Chapman in 1996 with a degree in criminal justice and went on to become an elementary school teacher in Long Beach, Calif. She was 36-years old.

by Stephanie Leavell & Doug Aiken
Sports Information Intern & Sports Information Director