The Leopards volleyball team was full of emotions Saturday as La Verne faced Whittier on Saturday, sweeping them 3-0 on senior night and earning home-court advantage for the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference semifinals.
Before the game, all four seniors were called up to the court and were recognized for their achievements, and contributions while playing for the team.
These seniors were graduate student middle back and right side hitter Ayana Mier, senior outside hitter and right side hitter Nalani Young, senior libero Kelly Yeung and senior outside hitter Noelani Soma.
The first set started off strong by the Leopards as they took the lead of the scoreboard. Though the Poets would catch up and tie the score at 13-13
The Leopards did not give up easily and ended up winning the first set 25-20 thanks to four consecutive attack errors by the Poets.
The Leopards put the first point on the board in the second set thanks to sophomore outside hitter Mya Ray, who is currently ranked No. 1 in SCIAC with 425 kills. The second set ended in a close call, but La Verne won 25-23.
The Leopards immediately took control of the third set thanks to repeated attack errors and kills by the Leopards.
The Poets caught up to tie the game 11-11, and slowly added more points to the scoreboard but that wouldn’t be enough to win the third set and the Leopards won 25-18 to complete the sweep.
The Leopards finish their regular season 22-5 overall and 13-3 in SCIAC play.
—Romualdo Sanchez
Romualdo Sanchez is a junior journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism and a staff writer for the Campus Times.
