ORANGE, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Volleyball team (6-3, 0-1 SCIAC) dropped their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opener at Chapman University Friday evening in heartbreaking fashion after losing the final two sets during a 3-2 (24-26, 25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 13-15) five set loss.
Trailing by five, 9-4, early in the first set Hannah Hajnal (El Cerrito, CA) recorded a kill that started a 5-0 Bulldogs run that included kills from Paige Sugg (Federal Way, WA) and Emma Murphy (South Jordan, UT) with Esha Ball (Fresno, CA) and Murphy combining on a block.
The Panthers responded with 13 of the next 18 points that brought them to within three points of winning the first set. But the Bulldogs would rally taking advantage of six Panther errors, while Sugg added three kills joined by a Lily Kautai (San Mateo, CA) service ace that helped the Bulldogs even the set at 24-24.
After the 10-2 run to tie the frame, Chapman would close it out with a kill and a block as Redlands fell short, 26-24.
Neither team led by more than two points in the second set until a Sugg kill off a Hajnal assist capped off a 3-0 run that put the Bulldogs in front by three, 21-18. Avery Aminoff (Alexandria, VA) then got the Maroon and Grey a set point with a kill, but Chapman would win the next two points to make it 24-22. This is as close as they would get as Lily Houston (Reno, NV) would end the frame with a kill helping UR level the match.
Following the first 11 points in the third set it was 9-2 Bulldogs thanks to a pair of Makenna Vanhofwegen (Buckeye, AZ) and Sugg service aces and a Houston kill.
Chapman closed to within three points twice, but each time Redlands had a response, including a 4-1 run to end the set, 25-19, which included a kill and service ace by Kautai and capped off with back to back tallies by Sugg.
The fourth set was an inverse of the third with the Panthers holding a big lead early. The Bulldogs closed to within two, 7-5, but that was the closest they would get as the match went to a decisive fifth set.
In the first to 15 final period Chapman scored three of the first four points before Redlands would add the next three to go in front 4-3.
The lead was reclaimed by the Panthers at 6-5, and with the exception of a tie at six all, they held the lead for the rest of the set as Redlands dropped the final frame by two points, 15-13.
Vanhofwegen and Hajnal had 30 and 24 assists, respectively. The offense ran through Sugg and Kautai who each hit over .200 with 17 kills a piece. 'Ale'amaikalani Paiva (Honolulu, HI) led a strong defensive effort with 23 digs. Sugg and Vanhofwegen added 16 digs each for double-doubles on the night. Kautai's 15 digs and Hajnal's 11 also gave them double-doubles.
Redlands has a quick turnaround hosting Whittier College tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, September 27 at 4:00 p.m. inside Currier Gymnasium in their home SCIAC opener.
