ULV walks plank in front of 1,200 Pirate fans

by Matt Paulson
Sports Editor

The University of La Verne women's volleyball team had its hopes of retaining the national title thwarted by Whitworth College last Friday as the Pirates defeated the Leopards in the West Region semifinals in a four-game match (25-30, 30-19, 30-24, 30-22) in Spokane, Wash.

About 1,200 Pirate fans witnessed the contest, which pitted the No. 9 ranked team in the nation entering regionals - ULV - against the No. 10 ranked team in the nation entering the regionals-Whitworth.

The standing-room-only gym was reminiscent of the national championship match against Wisconsin-Whitewater last year, which was played in Whitewater in front of 1,700 Warhawk fans.

"It was a great atmosphere to compete in," head coach Don Flora said.

In the first game, ULV came out storming, showing an intensity of a team hungry for another national championship.

After a six-point rally, ULV boasted a 13-7 lead. That margin would be all the Leopards needed to take the first game, as sophomore Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year Amy Kratochvil pounded the game-winning kill.

"Don't be satisfied," Flora said, as he recalled his thoughts after the first game. "It takes three games to win a match."

Flora said the team's main goal for the second game was to "get the momentum, which didn't happen."

At 19-16 in favor of the Pirates in the second game, riding a Leopard service error and three hitting errors, Whitworth managed to put together a 7-1 run to get to a 26-17 lead. The Pirates then showed dominant form as they closed out the Leopards by a score of 30-19 to tie the match at a game apiece.

Flora said that Whitworth came out with an intensity it did not possess in the first game, and ULV needed to step up its play to match Whitworth in the second.

"In game two, we need to raise our level of competitive energy, and that just didn't happen," Flora said.

Game three picked up right where game two left off. The Pirates forged a quick 5-1 lead in the game. There was no turning back from there, as Whitworth won the third game by a score of 30-24 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Going into the fourth game, the Leopards faced elimination. A loss here would send ULV home for the season.

But ULV had a job to do; they did not want to go home. They had to concentrate on "getting off on the right foot, re-establishing La Verne volleyball and getting our offense squared away," Flora said.

"I did not want to have any regrets about the weekend," sophomore Jennifer Stout said. She continued to say that she knew she had to play to the best of her potential, just as she had done in the first three games.

At the start of the fourth game, it appeared that ULV would send the match to a fifth game after the Leopards achieved a 7-5 lead.

But Whitworth put together another one of the rallies that had proved detrimental to ULV earlier in the match. The Pirates jumped to a 10-8 lead after a 5-1 point run.

The lead would remain in the hands of the Pirates as the 1,200 in attendance vehemently cheered their team to the 30-22 victory.

Leopard fans everywhere bowed their heads in silence as the kill by senior Jill Vaughan was heard throughout the West Coast on the Internet broadcast from Whitworth Fieldhouse.

"It just hurts," Flora said.

Part of the reason for the loss was simply the Pirates' performance.

"[Whitworth] played the best three games of their season," Flora said. Whitworth's coaches agreed with Flora on this assessment.

Ironically, the superior offense that led the Leopards to their undefeated SCIAC record was another one of the main reasons for Friday's loss.

"We just fell behind in all three games, and we were fighting uphill," Flora said.

These deficits were due strictly to "offensive execution errors," he said. "It was all about our offense."

Flora cited the Leopard hitting errors as the only difference between the two teams in the match.

"When the tough times come, someone needs to raise their level, and I just didn't feel that," he said.

"It just didn't happen for us," Stout said.

The night before, that offense was in full swing in the match against St. Joseph's College of New York, which the Leopards won in three straight games, accumulating a team hitting percentage of .363.

The Leopards made this match look like a SCIAC contest against Cal Tech rather than a regional quarterfinal.

They took the first two games by one-sided scores of 30-11 and 30-15.

The third game was much closer, ending on an Adele Jones kill at 30-27 for a 3-0 victory in the match and a berth into the regional semifinal.

In the third game, "it was just tough to keep our focus," Flora said.

This lack of focus was because La Verne prepared to play a competitive regional match, and the Leopards ended up facing a drastically inferior opponent, he said.

Kratochvil led the Leopards with 15 kills for a hitting percentage of .619.

"[Kratochvil] was fun to watch," Flora said.

Last weekend's loss to Whitworth ends ULV's attempt to mirror last year's march to the National Title. As it is in every sport, when the season concludes, there comes a time when all players and coaches look back and reevaluate their overall outlook of the year.

"Physically, this group gave us all they had, and I'm proud of them," Flora said.

"We didn't expect to win every game this year, but we all played to our potential," said senior Stacey Lupu.

Lupu is one of the three graduating seniors from the squad, which is rounded out by backup setter Meredith Zembal and libero Kelsey Kennedy.

"[The seniors] have been part of a special era in La Verne volleyball," Flora said. "All three of them helped re-establish ULV volleyball as an elite program in the country."

"I'm glad I ended my career with this team," Lupu said as she fought back tears. "Even though we didn't come out on top, I enjoyed the season that we had."

As for next year's team, "We have a great abundance of talent," Stout said. "We have a ton of depth; I think we're going to be strong."

Flora concurred. "We have a great amount of talent returning," he said. "Aug. 26 will not be here soon enough."