The University of Redlands women's volleyball team hosted the Chapman University Panthers on Senior Night in Currier Gym on Friday.  After honoring the careers and contributions of seniors Ellie McLeod (Redlands, CA), Alex Michel (Loma Linda, CA), and Addison Fonseca (Santa Cruz, CA), the Bulldogs impressed in the opening set but could not sustain that momentum and subsequently fell in four sets, 25-23, 14-25, 20-25, 14-25.

With its offensive firing on all cylinders, Redlands cruised to an early 7-2 lead and forced the Chapman head coach to call a timeout.  Freshman middle hitter Sofia Olsson (Cupertino, CA) initiated the hot start with back-to-back kills, before Fonseca joined the hit parade with a put-away of her own. Olsson and freshman middle hitter Sammi Tafoya (Granite Bay, CA) kept the offense rocking with consecutive kills, which set up McLeod's service ace to cap off the quality run by the Bulldogs.

The home team remained ahead by winning long rallies with gutsy defense and a multi-faceted attack.

However, the Panthers rallied to tie things up at 16 apiece to initiate a back-and-forth final few rallies.  Timely kills by McLeod, freshman opposite Megan Houston (Normandy Park, WA), and sophomore outside hitter Kaylee Burdick (Sun Valley, CA) kept Redlands in the hunt late in the set.

Tied again at 22, the Maroon and Gray stepped up its offense to secure the win, as Olsson and Burdick recorded kills in the final four points for the hard-fought 25-23 win.

Redlands worked to keep the momentum in the subsequent sets, but Chapman adjusted its offense to overcome its .143 showing in the opening frame to complete the comeback.

The Bulldogs gained a team-high 13 kills from Olsson, while Fonseca tallied 10.  McLeod facilitated the offense with 34 assists, with freshman libero Lauren Lux (San Jose, CA) effectively stepping in for seven.  Lux added 16 digs, while McLeod and freshman defensive specialist Emily Marty (Chula Vista, CA) each supplied 10.

Redlands (13-13, 3-12 SCIAC) looks to finish off the season on Saturday, October 29, with a SCIAC match at the No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges at 4 p.m.