The University of La Verne moved into a fourth-place tie with Whittier College in the SCIAC volleyball standings by earning a 3-0 sweep over visiting Pomona-Pitzer Friday evening at Frantz Athletic Court.
Set scores were 25-22, 25-15, 25-15.
The loss for the Sagehens (7-18, 5-8 SCIAC) eliminated them from a spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament
The Leopards hit .290 for the match while holding the Sagehens to a .142 clip on the night.
In the opening set, Pomona-Pitzer took an early 8-3 advantage and continued to hold that lead midway through the frame until La Verne used a 4-0 run to get back to within a single point, and then used a 3-0 run later in the set to move ahead 19-18. Catie Logan recorded the final two kills for the Leopards to close with a 25-22 set triumph.
After Pomona-Pitzer opened the second set with a 5-2 lead, La
Verne would a pair of 6-0 runs to win comfortably. The first run
erased an 8-7 deficit into a 13-8 deficit lead. The Leopards
added an additional six-point spurt to go ahead 24-14 before taking
the set 25-15.
La Verne (16-11, 6-6 SCIAC) controlled the third set from the
start, taking early leads of 5-1 and 10-4. The Sagehens pulled
within three points at 10-7 but La Verne went on 7-2 run to seize a
17-9 lead, eventually coasting to victory.
Randi Taylor-Toomay paced the Leopard attack with 11 kills with Kendall Kraiss adding 10 kills. Tiffany Johnstone hit .412 on the night in posting 8 kills for the Leos.
Ellen Yamasaki led Pomona-Pitzer with 10 kills while also posting a .350 hitting percentage.
The win coupled with Whittier's loss to conference leader Cal Lutheran sets up a crucial matchup between the schools for a possible berth in next week's SCIAC Postseason Tournament tomorrow night as the Poets (11-18, 6-6 SCIAC) face the Leos on Senior Night in a 6:00 pm start.
