Rally comes up just short in five-set loss to La Verne

ORANGE, Calif. - Fighting for its postseason life, the Chapman University volleyball team played one of its best matches of the season on Tuesday night. The Panthers rallied from two sets down to tie the match and force a decisive fifth set, but visiting University of La Verne held on for a 25-13, 25-17, 24-26, 21-25, 15-13 win at the Hutton Sports Center.

La Verne (18-3 overall, 10-2 SCIAC) clinched a SCIAC Tournament berth with the win, its seventh victory in a row. Meanwhile, Chapman (6-15 overall, 5-6 SCIAC) fell to two games back of fourth-place Pomona-Pitzer in the conference standings with five matches to play.

The Panthers were their own worst enemy in the first two sets, committing 20 attack errors combined and hitting a negative percentage. They would commit just eight errors the rest of the match, aiding their rally.

Senior MB Val Geiger was one of three Chapman players to reach double figures in kills with 18. Junior OH Michele Hammer and senior OH Nicole Moy added 12 and 11 kills, apiece. It was a season-high for Moy.

Sophomore MB Ellen Cleveland totaled six blocks (two solo, four assists) and freshman S Jade Santos earned 42 assists.

La Verne was led by OH Brittany Yaxley who earned a match-high 22 kills and added 11 digs.

Chapman will travel to Whittier on Friday facing a must-win match against the Poets, who took a five-set match against the Panthers earlier this season. Chapman will then host first-place Cal Lutheran on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Hutton Center.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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