The University of Redlands volleyball team continued its Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) journey on Friday night by hosting the Chapman University Panthers in Currier Gym. Despite out-blocking the visitors, the Bulldogs struggled to close out the tight sets and fell by scores of 18-25, 19-25, 22-25.
The match opened with a back-and-forth battle, as freshman outside hitter Kaylee Burdick (Sun Valley, CA) and sophomore outside hitter Kailee McCoy (Chandler, AZ) came out firing to find hardwood for the Bulldogs and force a five-all tie.
Furthermore, Redlands gained quality kills from senior right-side hitter Kimberly Nevarez (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), junior right-side hitter Stephanie Dustin (San Marino, CA), and senior middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA), resulting in another even score at 11 apiece.
Unfortunately, the errors crept into the Bulldogs' side of the court, allowing Chapman to pull away for the opening-set win.
During the second stanza, the Panthers set the tone early by establishing a 5-1 advantage off of an effective offense. The Maroon and Gray's sole point during this stretch came off of a stuff-block by McCoy and sophomore middle blocker Kiersten Langerud (Williamsburg, VA).
However, the momentum stayed with Chapman, which kept the home team at a two-point distance, with the exception of 15-14 after a Dustin kill for the Bulldogs, through the finish.
The third frame saw a much tighter showing, as highlighted by nine tie scores and three lead-changes. The final knotted tally came at 16 apiece off of a McCoy kill from senior setter Lauren Ellingwood (Kirkland, WA).
Redlands did its best to keep it close by battling through the long rallies and thriving off the raucous crowd, but the Panthers took care of business to secure the three-set sweep.
For the Bulldogs, Burdick led the offense with eight kills, while McCoy backed her with seven. Ellingwood distributed 22 assists, while McCoy added three service aces.
Redlands tallied seven blocks, as compared to Chapman's three, with Langerud contributed six block assists.
The Bulldogs (5-12, 1-8 SCIAC) look to bounce back when they travel to Occidental College on Tuesday, October 13, for a 7:30 p.m. conference match against the Tigers.
