LA VERNE, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Volleyball team (8-5, 4-2 SCIAC) had another big Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) test Tuesday night as they took on No. 15 University of La Verne falling in straight sets 25-14, 25-13, 25-20.
In the first set Makenna Van Hofwegen (Buckeye, AZ) picked up two early assists as she fed Elizabeth Moyer (Surprise, AZ) for two kills giving UR an early 2-1 lead.
The Leopards then won 10 of the next 11 points as the Bulldogs found themselves down 11-3. The Bulldogs did show some fight, pulling within five, 17-12, as Emma Murphy (South Jordan, UT) and Makaila Brooks (Las Vegas, NV) got their first kills of the match.
La Verne though would put the set away with an 8-2 run as they won 25-14.
Redlands got off to another quick start in the second holding a 5-2 lead following a kill for Moyer, an ace for Brooks, and three Leopard errors.
Despite the strong start, and a 5-3 run later on, the Bulldogs would fall behind 2-0.
Heading into a must win third set the Bulldogs fell behind quickly, 6-1. They would, however, storm back to tie the game at 10-10. During the run Kaegan Wherry (Englewood, CO) got her first kill of the match.
After three straight from the Leopards, the Bulldogs took their first set lead as they utilized a 9-3 surge to go in front 19-16. Lali Makaiwi (Las Vegas, NV) and Kaitlyn DeLong (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) each had kills during the run.
Following the Lyric Waterman (Aurora, CO) assisted, DeLong kill, the Leopards ended the match by winning the last seven points, while not committing any errors.
The Bulldogs' blocking was not quite up to the task the Leopard hitters presented, but they did improve over the course of the three sets, lowering the Leopard hitting percentage from .379/.200/.150.
The task does not get any easier for the Maroon and Grey as they host No. 11 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps this Saturday, October 12 beginning at 4:00 p.m. inside Currier Gym.
