ST. LOUIS — The No. 7 University of La Verne volleyball team battled at the Washington University Bear Invite against its toughest competition of the season. 

The Leopards defeated RV Cornell (IA) 3-1, fell 3-0 to No. 3 UW-Whitewater, and lost to No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis 3-0.

Mya Ray reached a benchmark, surpassing 1,000 career kills. The two-time All-American entered the weekend needing just three kills to reach the milestone and finished the tournament with a team-high 49 kills. Ray led the Leopards with 31 digs and added eight blocks. Ray posted 24 kills with a .420 hitting percentage against WashU, a career-high in a three-set match.

No. 3 UW-Whitewater 3, No. 7 La Verne 0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-17)
The Leopards battled in the tournament opener but couldn't pull off the upset against the Warhawks. La Verne came within a point twice in the opening set, first off a kill from Kaitlyn Bloomer to put the score at 21-20 and later off a UWW service error that put the score at 23-20. 

La Verne got closer in the second set and had a set point after a big solo block from Allison Whiteman. The Warhawks responded with back-to-back kills and a block to go up 2-0. Whiteman led the Leopards with 10 kills and four blocks.

No. 7 La Verne 3, RV Cornell (IA) (24-26, 25-14, 29-27, 28-26)
The Leopards responded after dropping the first set with a dominant second set and battled in the final two frames, earning the win. Cornell, currently receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 poll, has been ranked as high as No. 21 this season. 

After hitting just 0.056 in the first set, La Verne rallied with a 0.263 hitting percentage in set two. The Leopards took a 23-10 lead off a dish from Malia Capistrano to Zacky Coaston. 

Both squads stepped up in the third with La Verne hitting 0.320 and Cornell hitting 0.317. Neither team led by more than three points in the back and fourth third set. Cornell had three set points, the first two stopped by Lauren Gott kills and the last ended by a service error. Ray and Whitman had back-to-back kills to end the set.

It was a similar scenario in the fourth with the Leopards staving off two set points. A kill and ace both from Ray set up match point. Coaston totaled seven blocks in the match, one shy of her season-high. Kimi Watanabe-Mayhew added a career-high five blocks.  Ray finished with 18 kills, Gott added 16 kills, and Whitman posted 15.

No. 9 WashU 3, No. 7 La Verne 0
The Leopards forced extra points in the final two sets but the Bears pulled away for the sweep. La Verne took a 24-23 lead in the second following back-to-back kills from Ray. The Bears followed with three straight points. La Verne showed life off kills from Coaston and Ray to take back the advantage, 26-25. WashU again responded with three straight points to go up 2-0.

La Verne took a 15-10 lead in the third when Vanessa Marquez connected with Bloomer. WashU chipped away at the lead and spoiled the comeback attempt.

Season Impact
The Leopards move to 8-2 overall.

Next Game
The Leopards return home and opens SCIAC play against Caltech on Friday, September 27 at 7 p.m.

Tournament Leaders

Kills
Mya Ray, 49
Allison Whiteman, 33
Lauren Gott, 24
Kimi Watanabe-Mayhew, 14
Zacky Coaston, 11

Assists
Malia Capistrano, 47
Sydne Humphrey, 36
Vanessa Marquez, 21
Kaitlyn Patterson, 10

Aces
Lauren Gott, 3
Sydne Humphrey, 2
Mya Ray, 2
Allison Whiteman, 2
Malia Capistrano, 1

Digs
Mya Ray, 41
Malia Capistrano, 27
Kaitlyn Patterson, 23
CC Flaherty, 18
Lauren Gott, 18
Sydne Humphrey, 14
Allison Whiteman, 12

Blocks
Kaitlyn Bloomer, 11
Zacky Coaston, 11
Kimi Watanabe-Mayhew, 8
Mya Ray, 8
Allison Whiteman, 6
Lauren Gott, 4