LA VERNE, CA – The No. 15 University of La Verne Leopards squad looked the part over the weekend, going undefeated in the annual Pacific Coast Classic to start the season 3-0.

The Leopards dominated their opponents in the tournament, winning their matches a combined nine sets to one.

Tournament Leaders

Returning First Team All-American Mya Ray led the Leopards with 35 kills and 33 digs with six aces and three blocks. Lauren Gott, an All-Region selection a year ago added 34 kills, 29 digs, and three aces.

Cal State San Bernardino transfer Allison Whiteman shined in her first action with La Verne. The West Covina native led the Leopards with 11 aces, tied for a team-high seven blocks, and added 28 kills. Freshman Kimi Watanabe-Mayhew took little time to adjust to the college game. The newcomer from Immaculate Heart High School put down 17 kills with seven blocks and seven digs. 

Malia Capistrano and Sydne Humphrey split time at setter in the Leopards' 6-2 rotation. Capistrano, an All-American Honorable Mention as a freshman, led the Leopards with 50 assists to go with four aces and 21 digs. Humphrey dished 44 assists and dug 21 balls. 

Cal Poly Humbolt transfer Kaitlyn Patterson also made her mark in her new home, finishing with 28 digs, 15 assists, and two aces.

Kaitlyn Bloomer finished with seven blocks and 12 kills. Zacky Coaston totaled seven blocks. Vanessa Marquez added 12 assists, all against Skidmore.

Game One: La Verne 3, Centre 0 (29-21, 25-17, 25-19)

The Leopards opened the season with some drama, needing extra points to put away Centre in the opening set of the season. After a La Verne service error gave Centre a 24-20 lead, it looked like the Leopards would open their 2024 campaign on a sour note.

But the Leopards responded with a 4-0 run sparked by a kill from Whiteman with back-to-back kills from Ray and Gott following. Both teams failed to capitalize on set-point opportunities until Coaston and Gott finished with consecutive kills. 

La Verne started to hit their stride at the end of the second set, finishing on a 6-0 run highlighted by a pair of aces from Patterson.

La Verne never trailed in the final set and Gott capped off the sweep with an ace.

Game Two: La Verne 3, University of Wisconsin River Falls, 1 (25-13, 25-17, 21-25, 25-19)

After hot-hitting performances in the first two sets, the Leopards dropped their first set of the season before responding in the four-set win. 

Ray posted seven of her 15 kills in the first set. The Leopards pulled away midway through the frame, going on a 6-0 run capped by a pair of Whiteman aces.

It was almost an identical story in the second, with the Leopards again going on a 6-0 run to pull away late. 

The Falcons took control early in the third, quickly jumping out to an 8-3 lead, benefiting from four attack errors. A few points later UW River Falls scored six straight to take a 14-5 advantage. Two kills from Ray helped the Leopards get to within three late but they would get no closer.

Down 17-16 in the fourth, La Verne scored seven straight points to retake control on their way to a four-set win.

Game Three: La Verne 3, Skidmore 0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-13)

The tournament's final game was never in doubt as the Leopards completed their perfect weekend. La Verne hit .413 in the match and .524 in the first set.

Ray and Gott both finished with 10 kills. Whiteman added five aces and nine kills. Bella Hargrave, CC Flaherty, and Marquez each added two aces.

Next Game

The Leopards return to action next Friday when they co-host the Whittier Invitational. La Verne plays Austin College at 2 p.m. and UC Santa Cruz at 7 p.m. On Saturday, La Verne will play Puget Sound at 3 p.m. and Edgewood at 5:30 p.m.