In front of a raucous crowd in Currier Gym, the University of Redlands volleyball team prevailed over visiting University of La Verne in a five-set thriller tonight. With the win, the Bulldogs remain atop the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings, with every other team in the league having at least one loss.

The Maroon and Gray jumped out to an early lead in the opening set and never relinquished control. Despite a late run by the Leopards, the Maroon and Gray nabbed the 25-21 victory. The roles reversed in the second set as La Verne held off a late push by Redlands and tied the match at one set apiece with a 25-21 win. With momentum on their side, the Leopards took control early in the third set and pulled away with the 25-20 victory. However, the Bulldogs clawed their way back into the match by taking the fourth set, 25-19. Finally, in the deciding set, Redlands earned an early lead that propelled it to the 15-11 victory.

Junior outside hitter Jackie Hamilton (Loma Linda, CA) led the Bulldogs with 20 kills to go along with 15 digs. Junior middle blocker Megan Phillips (Vista, CA) posted a solid hitting percentage of .406 with 15 kills while contributing five blocks assists. Sophomore middle blocker Emily Capozzoli (Poway, CA) came up with 13 kills and senior outside hitter Ali Massei (San Carlos, CA) put down 11. Senior setter Kelina Smith (Kurtistown, HI) provided 57 assists, 16 digs, and three block assists.

As a team, Redlands put up 9.0 blocks, compared to La Verne’s 5.0. Also, the Bulldogs earned a hitting percentage of .186, which was slightly better than the Leopards at .158. Otherwise, the match appeared very even between two competitive and talented teams.

This marks Redlands’ first win over La Verne since Nov. 2, 2006.

The Bulldogs (12-3, 6-1 SCIAC) look to avenge their only conference loss of the season when they host Cal Lutheran University on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Currier Gym.