LA VERNE, CA — It took a pair of five-set matches but the No. 11 University of La Verne volleyball team remained perfect after posting four wins at the Whittier Invitational Co-hosted by La Verne.
La Verne 3, Austin 0
The Leopards rolled to their third sweep of the season behind 10 kills from
Mya Ray and six blocks from
Zacky Coaston. La Verne held the Kangaroos to negative hitting percentages in the final two sets.
La Verne 3, UC Santa Cruz 2
The Leopards had their work cut out for them against the Banana Slugs in their first five-set match of the season. After dropping the first set, the Leopards rebounded to win the next two, 25-17 and 25-15.
Kimi Watanabe-Mayhew got hot late in the gift and Ray added a kill to bring a match point. A service error gave the Leopard the win.
La Verne 3, Puget Sound 1
After falling in a close first set, the Leopards returned to form in the second and dominated the third set. Ray had 18 kills in the match while
Malia Capistrano dished 21 assists with
Sydne Humphrey adding 19.
La Verne 3, Edgewood 2
The Leopards were ready to wrap up the tournament with a sweep after taking the first two sets from Edgewood. But the Eagles answered with wins in the third and fourth to threaten the upset. La Verne began to pull away late in the fifth and
Mya Ray capped off the win with a kill and an ace.
Newcomers Making an Impact
Transfers
Allison Whiteman and
Kaitlyn Patterson, and freshman Watanbe-Mayhew have made their mark in their first two weeks as Leopards. Whiteman is tied for second on the squad with 68 kills and Patterson leads the team with 106 digs. Watanabe-Mayhew has 53 kills this season including three straight in the fifth set against UC Santa Cruz.
Season Impact
The Leopards improved to 7-0 overall this season.
Next Game
The competition ramps up for the Leopards next as they head to Missouri to play three ranked opponents at the Washington University Invite. The Leopards will play No. 7 Wisconsin-Whitewater and No. 22 Cornell (IA) on Saturday, September 20. The following day they wrap up the tournament against host No. 16 Washington University.
Tournament Leaders
Kills
Mya Ray, 56
Allison Whiteman, 40
Kimi Watanabe-Mayhew, 36
Lauren Gott, 34
Zacky Coaston, 24
Kaitlyn Bloomer, 14
Assists
Malia Capistrano, 84
Sydne Humphrey, 68
Kaitlyn Patterson, 17
Aces
Mya Ray, 10
Malia Capistrano, 8
Allison Whiteman, 5
Digs
Kaitlyn Patterson, 78
Lauren Gott, 62
Mya Ray, 46
Malia Capistrano, 38
Sydne Humphrey, 33
Allison Whiteman, 17
Blocks
Zacky Coaston, 21
Mya Ray, 16
Kaitlyn Bloomer, 14
Kimi Watanabe-Mayhew, 9
