Volleyball dumps Occidental in 3
Campus Times
October 23, 1998
Sophomore outside hitter Amy Brummel (#4) denies an attempt from Occidental
to get back in the match last Tuesday night as junior middle blocker Isa
Lose (#13) closes the angle. La Verne won the match in three games, 15-7,
15-5, 15-12.
by Ryan Allen
Arts & Entertainment Editor
With the season more than halfway over, the University of La Verne women's
volleyball team has become more focused on obtaining a crucial goal-a post-season
berth.
Last Saturday, ULV played host to the No. 1 team in the region, Cal
Lutheran, a team which just one week earlier scored only seven points total
in a match. Even though the Leopards lost, 15-6, 15-12, 15-11, they took
plenty of positive things with them from that match, Don Flora, ULV head
coach, said.
"We had our best match of the season against Cal Lu last week,
in a losing effort, but we played great," said Flora. "Our intensity
was high, our technical aspects of the game were very solid and we were
in each game. Our competition level was much higher, a level we need to
be at."
On Tuesday, La Verne set its sights on the visiting Occidental College
Tigers. With the motivation of playing like a team determined to make playoffs,
the Leopards blasted the Tigers, 15-7, 15-5, and 15-12, in a match that
only lasted a little more than an hour.
ULV jumped out to an early lead in the first game, which set the pace
for the rest of the match. Thanks to tough serves on the part of the Leopards,
which included three aces in a row by sophomore outside hitter Kim Bell,
Occidental made errors that allowed La Verne to cruise through the match.
Bell finished the match with five aces, five kills and four digs.
The second game was much like the first, as ULV jumped ahead, 4-2, and
never looked back. La Verne outscored the Tigers, 11-3, as ULV's tough serving
once again caused almost all Occidental's errors. Junior middle blocker
Allison Moore, who finished the night with three solo-blocks and two aces,
put the nail in the coffin in the second game by coming up with the game-winning
block.
The third game was a bit more competitive, as the Tigers led almost
the entire match. La Verne seemed to fall apart, until the tough ULV serving
brought them back, and the Leopards eventually tied the game, 12-12. After
that, the Leopards finished out the third game and the match, which took
only one hour and 10 minutes to complete entirely.
"It's just the kind of game where we can show how good we really
are," Moore said after the Occidental match.
"A month ago we weren't even near as good as we are right now,"
said sophomore outside hitter Amy Brummel. "Our game tonight, we put
them away in three, and that is what we need to keep doing. We have to prove
ourselves for playoffs."
"It shows we can make progress in our play," said Flora, whose
team improved to 8-15 overall and 5-3 in SCIAC. "It is also nice because
we had an opportunity to play well and get everybody in the match."
