Volleyball suffers first defeat at home
Campus Times
September 19, 1997
The University of La Verne women's volleyball team suffered their first
loss of the season on Tuesday night against California State University
at San Bernardino. This was the first match of the season for the Leopards,
and they were a little rusty.
"I wasn't completely un-satisfied," said head coach Jim Paschal.
"The team hadn't played on the court together since November of last
year."
The Leopards haven't played together in almost a full year, a long time
to have off as a team.
San Bernardino never let the Leopards settle into the game. Whenever
ULV would press to try and take a game, San Bernardino would come up with
a big stop.
"We need to learn to play technical volleyball," said sophomore
Allison Moore, who led the team with four solo blocks. Moore also added
four kills on five attempts and led La Verne with an .800 hitting percentage.
ULV out blocked San Bernardino 15-13 and had more kills with 20, compared
to San Bernardino's 15.
"We were not keeping up with the pace of the game," said sophomore
Sarah Henry, who led the Leopards with 7 kills. Henry also had four block
assists.
In game one when sophomore Lynsey Best got a little rattled, freshman
Amy Brummel was substituted for Best. Brummell came in and did a solid job,
with 6 kills, which was second only to Henry.
"Amy Brummel really stepped up and put balls away when we needed
it," said senior setter Mercury Simonian, who contributed to La Verne's
effort with two service aces.
In game one, La Verne was down 11-3 and came back to tie, but eventually
lost 15-11. "It shows a lot of character not to give up," said
Simonian.
The team was a little nervous due to the fact that it was the first
game of the season, not to mention the fact that it was at home.
"I felt anxious," said Simonian.
The Leopards serving was a positive statistic, as they out served San
Bernardino with seven aces to three.
Don Flora, assistant coach, stressed the importance of defense and coverage
to winning games. ULV will take that advice on the road where they play
their next opponent in a Washington University tournament in St. Louis Missouri.
La Verne's next home match will be against Master's College on Sept. 26
at 7:30 p.m.
