ORANGE, CA — The No. 12 University of La Verne volleyball team dropped a close road game in five sets to Chapman University Tuesday night.

Alison Whiteman posted 20 kills and seven aces, both season highs. Lauren Gott led the Leopards with 21 digs and added 14 kills and two aces.

Kimi Watanabe-Mayhew added 11 kills and three blocks. Zacky Coaston finished with seven blocks.

The Leopards battled in the first set and took a 22-21 lead off a Whiteman ace but the Panthers closed out on a 4-0 run to take the opener.

La Verne stormed back winning the next two sets 25-19 and 25-15. The Leopards took a 23-13 lead in the second off back-to-back kills by Whiteman and Watanabe-Mayhew before closing the set.

In the third, the Leopards went on a 12-0 run spearheaded by five Whiteman aces and four Gott kills to take a commanding 16-5 advantage.

Chapman answered in the fourth taking a 12-3 lead early before winning the set 25-12. After a back-and-forth start in the fifth, Chapman took a 12-7 lead and the Leopards couldn't recover, falling 15-11.

Vanessa Marquez dished 21 assists. Malia Capistrano ended with 19 assists and 11 digs. Madison Smith added 20 digs.

La Verne moves to 15-4 overall and 7-2 in the SCIAC. The Leopards are in second place in the SCIAC, a game behind Claremont-Mudd-Scripps with seven games remaining, including a showdown at home against the Athenas.