CLAREMONT, CA – The University of La Verne women's volleyball team battled the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas on the road on Halloween, falling in a 3-2 thriller. Four Leopards,
Jordyn McCoy,
Malia Capistrano,
Abigail Montana, and
Zacky Coaston set season-highs. Seniors Coaston and
Lauren Gott held down the fort in the front row, with a combined 38 points between them. Sophomore
Morgan Watkins led the teams in digs with 22.
Postseason Push
The Leopards (7-5) are in fourth place in the SCIAC with two games remaining. La Verne trails CMS (8-4) by a game and is a half game ahead of Chapman (6-5) in the standings. Pomona-Pitzer lurks close behind at 5-7.
La Verne maintained the lead for all of set one. Coaston's undeniable swing kept the Leopards ahead of the Athenas. Coaston set a season high with 15 kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Defensively, she tallied seven block assists. Coaston was supported by setter
Malia Capistrano, who recorded 26 assists, and also grabbed a season high record. The Leopards finished on top in set one, 25-21.
In set two Gott, The Queen of Consistency, took big swings in the front row. Gott matched Coaston's kill number, with 15 as well. She also earned three block assists and 13 digs. The cross-town rivals were all tied up at 9-9, thanks to Gott and freshmen setter McCoy. McCoy nabbed 29 total assists, for the team's third season high record. The Leopards fell in the second 25-20.
Gott and Coaston continued to perform in the third. Sophomore
Mariah Ray contributed on the right side. She grabbed 12 kills, the third highest on the team. Ray added to the teams' 18 block assists with three of her own. But, La Verne couldn't find their footing and fell 25-21.
The Leopards struck back in the fourth, determined to deny the Athenas a victory. Middle blocker
Abigail Montana, a player notorious for her undeniable volume on the court, recorded eight kills, two block assists, and a .353 hitting percentage, making her the fourth Leopard to set a season high on Saturday. ULV won the fourth, 25-23.
All tied up at 2-2, the tensions rose. CMS plowed forward in the start of the fifth, but kills from outsides Alison Mason and Gott kept the Leopards relevant. Despite a valiant effort from La Verne, the final score read 15-13 in favor of the Athenas.
The Leopards play their crucial final regular season road game against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens on November 3 at 7 p.m.
