The No. 7 Leopards faced some of their toughest competition of the season at the Washington (St. Louis) Bear Invitational this past weekend, finishing 1-2 after three matches.
The Leopards earned a 3-1 victory over Cornell College (IA) but dropped matches to No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater and No. 9 Washington.
A milestone moment came for Leopards’ two-time All-American junior outside hitter Mya Ray, who surpassed 1,000 career kills during the tournament. Ray entered the weekend needing just three kills to hit the mark and finished with a team-high 49 kills over the three matches. She also led La Verne with 31 digs and added eight blocks.
The Leopards opened the tournament against Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks and put up a tough fight but ultimately lost 3-0 in straight sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-17).
Senior outside hitter/opposite Allison Whiteman led the Leopards with 10 kills and four blocks in the match.
In their second match, the Leopards rebounded with a 3-1 win over Cornell (24-26, 25-14, 29-27, 28-26). After dropping the first set, the Leopards regrouped and won three straight sets.
Ray led the match with 18 kills, while sophomore middle blocker Zacky Coaston added seven blocks, while freshman opposite Kimi Watanabe-Mayhew contributed a career-high five blocks.
The Leopards wrapped up the weekend against Washington (25-22, 26-24, 25-17) and were swept in three sets. Ray’s 24 kills and .420 hitting percentage were the highlight of the match against Washington.
Ray led the Leopards offensively with 49 kills over the weekend, followed by Whiteman with 33 and sophomore outside hitter Lauren Gott with 24. Sophomore setter Malia Capistrano dished out 47 assists, while sophomore setter Sydne Humphrey added 36.
After the 1-2 weekend in St Louis, the Leopards dropped two spots to No. 9 in the AVCA Division III national rankings.
The Leopards are now 8-2 on the year and return home to face Caltech in their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at 7 p.m. Friday.
—Jonas Holt
Jonas Holt is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print and online journalism. He is sports editor of the Campus Times, a staff writer for La Verne Magazine and staff photographer for both publications. He has previously been a staff writer for the Campus Times.
