REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands women's volleyball team (3-15, 1-7 SCIAC) fell in five sets to the University of La Verne (ULV) Saturday afternoon as their 2-1 comeback attempt fell short, 3-2.
After losing the first set, 25-21, Redlands came back in the second winning ten of the final fourteen points, to secure the set, 25-19, leveling the match.
In the second set following a Leopard kill to equalize at 15-15, Makenna Vanhofwegen (Buckeye, AZ) found Lily Kautai (San Mateo, CA) for the first of four unanswered points. During the run Kautai added a second kill, while Krystal Rose Huff (Mill Valley, CA) had a kill and a block.
After ULV scored on another attack, Kautai had back-to-back kills followed by a pair of Leopard errors to give the Bulldogs set point, 24-17. The Leopards tallied two points to rally before Cecily Wagstaff (Portland, OR) finished off the set with a kill off a set by Hannah Hajnal (El Cerrito, CA).
Redlands then lost the third set, but in the fourth they used a 3-0 run to give themselves a six-point lead, 14-8.
ULV, though, came all the way back and tied it at 22-22. A service error and a Makaila Brooks (Las Vegas, NV) kill, however, made it set point, 24-22. Much like the early part of the set, the Leopards tied it once again before Emily Kitchin (Portland, OR) and Huff ended it with kills, 26-24, forcing a decisive fifth.
The Bulldogs never trailed in the fifth set through 28 points and found themselves up three with three match points at 14-11, but the Leopards won four consecutive points to flip the script and give themselves set point, 15-14. A Kautai kill delayed the inevitable as a ULV kill and service ace ended the set, 17-15, and the match, 3-2, following a 6-1 Leopard run to end the period.
Huff finished with 17 kills and a career-high six total blocks, while hitting .342. Brooks also had a career day with eight blocks. Esha Ball (Fresno, CA) added five herself as Redlands posted 15 total. Vanhofwegen posted 31 assists splitting duties with Hajnal who added 20. They also combined for 33 digs. Tiana Mariner (Lehi, UT) in the backrow finished with a team high 22 digs and Kautai added 15 kills along with 16 assists.
Redlands returns to the road this week on Tuesday, October 20 for a match at the California Institute of Technology beginning at 7:00 p.m.
