Justin Ries
Staff Writer
The volleyball team faced four opponents Friday and Saturday as co-host of the La Verne/Whittier Invitational Tournament, but things did not go the Leopards’ way.
Despite going 1-3 on the weekend, the tournament had some bright spots.
“We played some really great moments this weekend and learned a lot about sustainability and what we have coming off the bench, and a lot of positives we can take even from losing,” head coach Randi Taylor-Toomay said.
La Verne played back-to-back games on Friday to open the tournament, starting with UC Santa Cruz.
The Leopards went on to beat the Banana Slugs, 3-1, and dominated every set they won, 25-15, 25-19 and 25-13. They lost only the third set, 26-24.
Senior outside hitter Lauren Gott led the way for the Leopards with 12 kills in the game. Senior middle blocker Zacky Coaston got 10 blocks.
The second match did not go as well, with the Leopards getting swept by Puget Sound, 3-0.
Gott led the Leopards again in kills with 12. Freshman outside hitter Allison Mason was second on the team with nine kills.
During the third set, Coaston had three straight blocks giving some momentum to the Leopards, but they ended up losing the set, 26-24, and the match.
For Puget Sound sophomore middle blocker Maddie Badger led her team with 14 kills, an unusually high number for a middle blocker.
The Leopards’ first game on Saturday was against Pacific Lutheran, which La Verne lost in five sets, 3-2.
The main highlight from this game was when Gott surpassed 1,000 career kills at La Verne. Gott seemed unaware that she hit this milestone, but it didn’t take long before she realized it.
“I think that really shows all the hard work that me and this program have put together for the last four years,” Gott said.
“I’ve been training Lauren for four years now and to see her reach that 1,000 kill milestone is amazing,” Taylor-Toomay said.
La Verne dominated in the two sets that they won with their hard kills from everyone. Errors by La Verne would cost them in the sets that they lost, especially at the service line.
In their final game of the weekend La Verne got swept by No. 19 ranked Batten, 3-0.
“We should think about the loss but not dwell on it too much and learn from our mistakes,” sophomore libero Morgan Watkins said.
Coaston said they are working through adversity, like trying different lineups to see what works.
“We’re trying to find who we are because obviously this season the team is different,” Coaston said.
Senior outside hitter Emma Yogan had seven kills coming off the bench for La Verne. Freshman setter Jordyn McCoy also had 13 assists coming off the bench.
“SCIAC play is really going to matter for us, so we have to show up for that,” Gott said.
La Verne opens up their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Whittier.
“This week and a half, we’re really just going to dial in and work on what we need to do to be ready as best we can for that match,” Taylor-Toomay said.
Justin Ries can be reached at justin.ries@laverne.edu.
Justin Ries is a junior journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism, and is a staff writer for the Campus Times.
Jasmine Lyn is a sophomore photography major and photography editor for the Campus Times. She is also a staff photographer for La Verne Magazine and a former staff photographer for the Campus Times. Her work can also be found at Jazzylyn.com
