The NCAA Division III West Regional Championship kicked off today at the University of Redlands with all of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) teams advancing to the next round.

The fifth-seeded Cal Lutheran University Regals (21-11) pushed past the fourth-seeded and No. 22 Loggers of the University of Puget Sound (WA, 18-7) in the opening match. Cal Lutheran rallied from behind to win in five sets (16-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-18, 15-12).

UPS-CLU recap (courtesy of Cal Lutheran sports information)

The drama continued in the second match of the day as the seventh-seeded Leopards of the University of La Verne (22-13) stunned the second-seeded and No. 17 Lutes of Pacific Lutheran University (WA, 20-7) in four sets (23-25, 25-18, 27-25, 25-19).

ULV-PLU recap (courtesy of Pacific Lutheran sports information)

In tonight’s final match, the third-seeded Redlands Bulldogs dismantled the sixth-seeded Panthers of Chapman University in a dominating sweep (25-16, 25-8, 25-12).

Against the Panthers, Redlands controlled the match from the opening serve en route to the three-set win. The Bulldogs gained an 11-3 lead when junior outside Jackie Hamilton (Loma Linda, CA) put away one of her 15 kills of the match. Chapman pulled within four at 11-15 but that was as close as it would get as Redlands cruised to a 25-16 victory. The Maroon and Gray posted a hitting percentage of .372, compared to the Panthers’ mark of .133.

In the second stanza, Redlands continued to dictate the match with its solid offense and oppressive blocking. The Bulldogs jumped ahead at 8-2 and never looked back as they consistently put the ball down while stopping the Panther attack. Midway through the set, junior middle blocker Kirby McCord (Huntington Beach, CA) slammed down one of her five kills to extend the Redlands lead to 17-3. From here, it was all Maroon and Gray as Chapman struggled from every facet of the court. Redlands posted an impressive attack of .293, while the Panthers tallied a -.048 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs earned a lopsided 25-8 win to close out the second set.

Despite a tight start to the third stanza, Redlands put on an impressive display of blocking that was led by sophomore middle blocker Emily Capozzoli (Poway, CA), who shut down the Chapman offense with five of her six total blocks coming in the final set. With a one-point lead at 11-10, the Bulldogs rattled off five points off of junior defensive specialist Heather Anthony’s (Redwood City, CA) serve, followed by an equally impressive seven-point run with junior defensive specialist Chelsea Arcaris (Vista, CA) at the service line. During this span, Redlands earned every point with either a kill or a block.

Capozzoli enjoyed a career night with a .500 hitting percentage off of nine kills, no errors, and 18 attempts. She also contributed six total blocks, one ace, and one dig. Senior right-side hitter Katy Douglass (Roseville, CA) provided stellar numbers as well with six kills and no errors on 13 attempts for a .462 clip. Hamilton came up with a team-leading 21 digs to go along with four blocks. Senior Kelina Smith (Kurtistown, HI) distributed 34 assists for the Bulldogs.

As a team, Redlands put up 12 blocks, compared to Chapman’s one. The Bulldogs also bested the Panthers in digs, 72 to 62.

Redlands and La Verne battle it out for the fourth time this season in tomorrow’s 7 p.m. semifinal match. Their most recent duel came in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament championship on Nov. 7 when the Bulldogs pulled out a thrilling five-set victory.

The other semifinal match features Cal Lutheran and top-seeded and No. 13 Colorado College at 4:30 p.m.