Volleyball avenges loss to Panthers
Campus Times
October 17, 1997
photo by Summer Herndon
Sophomore middle blocker Allison Moore goes up for a successful spike
against Chapman last Saturday. Moore, who was able to capture 10 kills and
three aces in the match, helped lead La Verne to a 3-1 victory over the
Panthers.
After losing to Chapman in its first meeting, which took place in an
early season tournament, the La Verne women's volleyball team had something
to prove when they played the Panthers last Saturday in a 3-1 victory.
Chapman was ranked second in the West Region, while the Leopards struggled
to reach a .500 overall average, having won three straight decisions entering
Saturday's matchup.
"I am anxious to see us play tonight, because we played Chapman
before," said head coach Jim Paschal. "We were making some changes
then, but now we have a chance to see what we can do now against Chapman."
Chapman took the first set of the match 15-6, with a very spirited and
energetic attack. The Panthers offense placed the ball well on the court,
while the Leopards fought to keep the ball inside their opponents' out-of-bound
lines.
"We started off rather slow," said sophomore middle blocker
Sarah Henry.
In the second set, La Verne sophomore middle blocker Allison Moore seemed
to fuel the Leopards fire by attaining two aces in route to a 15-13 win.
Following the first set loss, the Leopards came out with the gleam of
a predator in their collective eyes along with a lot of intensity, which
adversely uplifted their hitting and overall focus.
"We got more focused and picked up passing," said senior opposite
hitter Jill Seaton.
La Verne destroyed Chapman in the third set, as the Leopards pounced
on the Panthers early with a 12-0 lead. The Leopards would go on to take
the third set, 15-3, leaving the Panthers facing possible extinction from
a comeback attempt.
"They [Chapman] were more consistent in game one," said junior
outside hitter Lynsey Best.
The Panthers did muster a little pride in the fourth set when they jumped
out to an early 7-1 lead, but the match would belong to the Leopards who
came back to tie the score 12-12 before going on to win the set 15-12.
"We played well, hung in there in the second set, and came back,"
said an exuberant Paschal. "This game gave us a little oomph and respect."
The top La Verne performances came from; senior setter Mercury Simonian,
who attained 35 assists, three aces, and five kills; freshman outside hitter
Amy Brummel, who had 14 digs, one ace, and three kills; Moore, who slammed
10 kills and three aces; and Henry, who managed a team high 16 kills.
In La Verne's most recent game, last Tuesday, the Leopards ravaged Whittier
in three straight sets, leaving the Poets unable to ad-lib a performance.
La Verne captured the first set win without allowing the Poets to score
a single point. The Leopards played such a dominating game that Whittier
could only score a dozen points in the entire match.
Some of the standouts in the Whittier game were; Simonian, who had 27
assists and three kills; Henry, who attained two aces and six kills; and
Brummel, who had a team high six digs, and a tie for the team high with
seven kills.
The Whittier win was a definite team effort, as the Leopards extended
their win streak to five games. La Verne's overall record improved to 9-9,
while their league record moved to 4-1.
"They were not at good speed. Unfortunately for them, we played
well," said Paschal. "We played well because we executed the fudamental
skills."
La Verne has played some tough teams like UC San Diego and CSU San Bernardino.
These teams have helped the Leopards become a strong team, and consequently
aided La Verne in their current five game winning streak, according to Paschal.
"I feel like we are getting better everyday," said Paschal.
The Leopards next game is this Friday against Occidental, which starts
at 7:30 p.m. at Occidental's court in Eagle Rock.
