The University of Redlands volleyball team opened Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Friday night, facing the Chapman University Panthers in Currier Gym.  The Bulldogs battled through every set but came up short in the 18-25, 20-25, 20-25 decision.

During the second stanza, the Maroon and Gray garnered an early lead on the Panthers.  Solid net play coupled with Chapman's errors allowed the Bulldogs to go up by a score of 9-5. 

But a valuable timeout allowed the visiting team to regroup for a comeback that knotted the tally at 12 apiece.

From here, a back-and-forth contest ensued, with the teams evening the count at 20-all.  Aggressive serving by the Panthers propelled them to the five-point victory.

The third set saw much of the same, as the Bulldogs pulled ahead in the early goings.  Sophomore outside hitter Addison Fonseca (Santa Cruz, CA), junior outside hitter Marisa Gile (Yucaipa, CA), and junior middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA) strung together points with their solid hitting.

But Chapman answered with an offensive spurt of its own, as junior outside hitter Michele Hammer (San Clemente, CA) and sophomore middle blocker Ellen Cleveland (Seattle, WA) tag-teamed the attack in the front row.

Trailing by five late in the contest, the Maroon and Gray cut the deficit to three with a big block by junior right side Kimberly Nevarez (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) and freshman middle blocker Kiersten Langerud (Williamsburg, VA) initiating the short rally for Redlands.

However, Chapman sealed the win with three consecutive kills, to hand the Bulldogs a SCIAC-opening loss.

Martin led the Redlands attack with 12 kills for a hitting percentage of .281, while sophomore setter Ellie McLeod (Redlands, CA) distributed 25 assists.  Senior libero Courtney Johnson (Dana Point, CA) patrolled the back row with 11 digs.

For the Panthers, senior middle blocker Val Geiger (Palos Verdes, CA) knocked down a match-high 14 kills, while Hammer added 12.  Senior setter Morgan Slater (Ventura, CA) dished out 42 assists and senior libero Andi Frisina (Brea, CA) provided 16 digs.

Redlands (0-6, 0-1 SCIAC) remains in search of its first win when it travels to Pasadena for Saturday's 6 p.m. showdown against the Caltech Beavers.