Volleyball falls in four to Whittier

ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University volleyball team fell in four sets to Whittier on Tuesday. The Poets defeated the Panthers 28-26, 25-16, 21-25, 25-15 to take the take the season sweep.

Senior Jessi Lumsden had 21 kills and junior Cat Helgeson contributed 23 digs but the Panthers were unable to overcome a two set deficit to start the match.

Whittier put up 18 blocks to key the victory and keep the Panthers from getting on runs. Analise Kusleika had 10 total blocks (three solo and seven assisted) to lead the effort at the net.

Five of Whittier's blocks came in a back-and-forth first set. The Panthers scored the first three points of the match but Whittier immediately came back to tie the set early at 4-4. The teams traded the lead a few times before the Panthers put together a 6-2 run late for an 18-1 lead.

A Srivastava kill made it 22-19 later in the set but Whittier scored the next three points out of a timeout to tie the match at 22-22. Whittier ended up with set point at 24-23 and 25-24 but Chapman responded each time. Lumsden slammed down back-to-back kills – her seventh and eighth of the opening set – to give the Panthers a 26-25 advantage. After a hit went long to tie up the set, Whittier put up its fifth block of the set to gain its third set point and ended it with a service ace.

With the momentum in hand, Whittier seized the second set but Chapman fought back in the third. The Panthers hit .241 in the set and held Whittier to .164. Lumsden had five more kills and junior Leighton Gagnon hit five of her 10 kills without committing an error to give Chapman a boost.

Whittier responded with seven more blocks in the fourth to coast to the win. Chapman hit just .138 while Whittier hit .208 in the match.

The Panthers hit the road to take on La Verne on Friday but are back at home to take on Cal Lutheran at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

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