LA VERNE, CA — The No. 13 University of La Verne volleyball team had the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas on the ropes, heading into the fourth set up 2-1. But No. 12 CMS responded, winning the final two frames to spoil the Leopards' upset attempt.

Mya Ray posted a season-high 26 kills in the win, hitting .311 in the match. Ray added 14 digs and two aces. 

Lauren Gott finished with eight kills, two aces, and four blocks. Zacky Coaston posted a game-high six blocks. Malia Capistrano led La Verne with 17 assists with 11 digs. Madison Smith dug a team-high 21 balls and added 10 assists. 

CMS turned on the gas in the fourth, scoring the first six points of the set, and then jumped out to a 20-8 lead. The Athenas rolled to a 25-13 win forcing the deciding fifth set. La Verne couldn't overcome the initial deficit in the fifth and fell 15-10.

The opening set lived up to the hype in front of a packed ground inside The Tents. Trailing 23-22, the Leopards went on a 3-0 run bookend by kills from Gott and Allison Whiteman to bring up set point. CMS didn't go down without a fight and scored the next two points to go up 25-24. But Ray took over. She evened the game on a kill off a pass from Vanessa Marquez, and after CMS went back up 26-25, Ray led La Verne on another 3-0 run with a pair of kills to win the set.

The Athenas responded in a big way in the second, quickly jumped out to a 6-1 lead, and then extended the advantage to 10-3. The Leopards scored the next four points, benefitting from three CMS errors and an ace from Ray. But the Athenas didn't let the Leopards get any closer, taking the set 25-19.

The Leopards caught fire and rebounded in the third, hitting .387 in another tight set. La Verne finished the set on a 5-2 run sparked by back-to-back kills from the Ray sisters. Coaston and Gott finished the set with two more kills, to set up the upset bid. Mariah Ray totaled five kills and three blocks.

Whiteman finished with seven kills, six digs, and an ace. Sydne Humphrey finished with 13 assists and  Kaitlyn Bloomer tallied three blocks

La Verne moves to 17-5 overall and 9-3 in the SCIAC. They next travel to Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, November 4.