The University of Redlands women's volleyball team continued its early Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCAIC) slate with a road match at Chapman University on Tuesday night. Despite improving their hitting percentage each set, the Bulldog struggled against a more consistent Panther squad and lost in straight sets, 21-25, 21-25, 21-25.
After battling to an eight-all tie in the opening set, the Bulldogs gave up a short scoring run by the Panthers, which set them apart just enough to hold on for the win. A bright spot for the Bulldogs, freshman middle hitter Hannah Lanyon (San Diego, CA) provided four kills and one block assist in the first stanza.
Redlands kept the second set close through the latter part of the frame, with sophomore middle hitter Sofia Olsson (Cupertino, CA) finding her offensive groove by knocking down five of her 10 kills of the match. With her leading the charge, the Bulldogs eventually moved within two at 20-22, when sophomore outside hitter Melanie Fyda (Chicago, IL) fired off one of her six kills of the night. But a pair of Bulldog errors put Chapman out of reach for the visiting team, resulting in a two-set deficit.
During the third frame, the Maroon and Gray jumped out to a 5-2 lead with continued success by Lanyon at the net. But another scoring spurt by Chapman forced Redlands to work from behind at 11-16. Nonetheless, well-timed positive plays by Fyda, sophomore outside hitter Christina Casey (Sherwood, OR), and freshman right-side hitter Marlena Ramanis (Walnut Creek, CA) put the Bulldogs right back into the set at 16-18. However, the Panthers answered with another run of positive production to hand the loss to the Maroon and Gray.
Overall, Olsson and Lanyon accounted for 20 of the team's 33 kills, with each hitting above .300. Sophomore setter Emily Marty (Chula Vista, CA) and junior setter Jackie Andrade (Seattle, WA) ran the offense with 24 assists, collectively. Senior libero Abigail Hickman (Phoenix, AZ) supplied a team-high 11 digs for the Bulldogs.
Redlands (2-5, 0-2 SCIAC) strives to bounce back on Friday, September 22, when it hosts Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for a SCIAC showdown in Currier Gym at 7 p.m.