BALTIMORE, MD - It took the Leopards one set to shake off the nerves. After that, they looked every bit like the top-five team they've been all season. La Verne dropped the opening frame 25-22, looking uncharacteristically flat and out of rhythm, but the moment the second set began, everything changed. What started as a sluggish opening quickly turned into one of the most dominant stretches of volleyball the Leopards have played all year, as they stormed past Penn State-Behrend 3-1 (22-25, 25-5, 25-5, 25-3) to advance to tomorrow's NCAA Regional Semifinal.
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After losing the first set, La Verne came out firing. The Leopards absolutely overwhelmed Behrend in the second set, exploding to a 25-5 win, and repeated the exact same score in the third. By the fourth, the momentum was unstoppable. La Verne closed out the match with a commanding 25-3 finish, controlling every point, every rally, and every phase of the game. The Leopards hit .452 as a team while holding Behrend to -.069, flipping the match entirely after the shaky opening frame.
In the middle of that surge was a historic milestone. Junior middle blocker Zacky Coaston officially etched her name into the University of La Verne record books. Entering the match tied for first all-time with 396 career blocks, Coaston collected six more - including two solo - bringing her total to 402 career blocks and becoming the program's new all-time leader. She also hit a scorching .714 with five kills on seven swings while anchoring the defensive takeover.
On the pins, Lauren Gott and Mya Ray carried a fierce, locked-in presence from the very start. Even when the team struggled early, both outsides brought the competitive spark La Verne needed, and once the offense found its rhythm, they took over. Ray finished with 13 kills, four service aces, and two block assists while hitting .321, while Gott put down 11 kills on 19 error-free swings to hit .579 and added two blocks of her own.
La Verne also got a massive lift in the middle from Abigail Montana, who was nothing short of a force at the net. Montana tallied seven blocks and added three kills on .429 hitting, helping the Leopards rack up an incredible 24 total team blocks; one of their most dominant defensive performances of the season.
From the second set on, La Verne controlled the match in every statistical category. After hitting just .179 in the first set, the Leopards erupted to hit .519 in the second, .875 in the third, and .385 in the fourth, committing only six attack errors the entire night. Their defense suffocated the Lions, forcing 33 attack errors and holding them to just five kills in both the second and third sets - and only three in the fourth.
With the win, La Verne advances to the NCAA Regional Semifinal, where they will face No. 24 St. John Fisher tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 21 at 4:30 p.m. EST / 1:30 p.m. PST. The Leopards are now just one win away from the regional final and two wins away from the NCAA national quarterfinals - and after today's response, they look locked in for the next challenge.
