Lauren Harchut
Staff Writer
The women’s volleyball team swept the Pacific Boxers, 3-0, in their third game of the Pacific Coast Classic Tournament Saturday at Frantz Athletic Court.
“It’s an interesting situation in the sense where we haven’t seen anybody play, so you come into every match cold,” head coach Jenna Panatier said.
“We’ve really been concentrating on ourselves and taking care of the things that we need to take care of.”
La Verne had a rocky start, swapping points back-and-forth in the first game, always battling to tie it back up.
The Leopards managed to take a 20-14 lead, but with minor errors, the Boxers were able to catch up, cutting the lead to two, 21-19.
Freshman outside hitter Delaney Lynch and junior middle blocker Kelsi Robinson added kills to the lead, as La Verne won the first game, 25-21.
The Leopards and Boxers started off the second game like the first, trading points. The Boxers managed to take the lead, but the Leopards fought back with back-to-back kills.
Freshmen defensive specialist Kristen Sanchez answered back with two aces.
With the Leopards up, 20-17, a block by senior outside hitter Ashlyn Cross and Robinson got the momentum going through the rest of the game.
Robinson added two kills and Lynch added one of her own to push the lead.
The Leopards kept battling and finally went on an 11-3 streak. A kill by senior outside hitter Brittany Yaxley, sealed the game, 25-18.
Junior setter Tiffany Mancuso said the main thing the team needs to work on is defense. After struggling with defense and falling behind a few times, the Leopards managed to take charge of the third game.
The Boxers managed to tie the game, 1-1, but were never able to take the lead or tie it up once again. The team went on a 7-0 run, pushing the lead even further, 16-5.
Senior right side hitter Destinee Sales had two kills and finished the game with seven kills. The Leopards sealed the match in the third game, 25-16, with an error by Pacific.
La Verne never allowed Pacific to get closer than seven points.
Cross led the team with a game-high 20 digs and four blocks.
Junior outside hitter Cassie Thompson led the team with six blocks. Yaxley led the team with 11 kills.
The head coaches of participating teams voted Yaxley and Robinson to be named to the All-American Team.
The Leopards ended the game with a total of 54 digs and eight aces.
“We still have a lot to work on,” Robinson said. “It was good in a way that it’s showing us what we really need to work on.”
The tournament helped the Leopards realize what talent and chemistry they already have with one another.
“This game was actually pretty good,” Mancuso said. “We were together and we stayed connected the whole time which is good.”
The Leopards pushed through the final match of the tournament, as they took on Wisconsin-Stout.
After taking the first game, 25-18, the Leopards fell short in the second game, 25-23.
The last two games were close, but La Verne managed to pull through, winning both, 27-25 and 25-20.
Yaxley led the team with 18 kills and Robinson followed with 15. Sanchez had a team high of 23 digs.
The Leopards finished the tournament with a 3-1 record.
“Sticking to the scouting report and executing our plays are a few of the things we need to work on,” Panatier said.
The team now has a 4-1 overall record.
The Leopards will start Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play, as they face No. 5 Cal Lutheran Regals at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center.
Lauren Harchut can be reached at lauren.harchut@laverne.edu.
Lauren Harchut
