In tonight’s semifinal action of the 2009 NCAA Division
III Volleyball West Regional Championships, the Tigers of Colorado
College and the University of La Verne Leopards pulled out exciting
five-set victories to move onto the next round.
Despite being down in the deciding set, Colorado College rallied
back to eliminate the relentless Regals of Cal Lutheran, 25-22,
14-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-10.
CLU-CC recap (courtesy Colorado College sports
information)
In the second semifinal, the Bulldogs clawed their way back into
the match after being two sets down, but the Leopard attack proved
to be too much as La Verne held on for the 25-21, 25-16, 21-25,
23-25, 15-12 victory.
The opening tilt provided long rallies and intense points with both
teams playing a defensive style of volleyball. Redlands nabbed a
9-5 lead off of kill by junior outside hitter Jackie Hamilton (Loma
Linda, CA). However, La Verne came storming back to tie it at 11
all.
A back-and-forth battle ensued with the Leopards taking the lead at
18-17 with a stuff block by freshman setter Kendall Kraiss
(Huntington Beach, CA) and freshman middle blocker Caytie Logan
(Beaverton, OR). From here it was all La Verne who cruised to a
25-21 victory.
The momentum stayed with ULV during the second set as the Leopards
jumped out to a sizeable lead at 18-8. The Bulldogs appeared to
self-destruct with error after error, while La Verne could do no
wrong and made quick work of Redlands to take a two-set lead.
The third set reminded Redlands fans of what they were used to
seeing during the 2009 season, complete with big plays and
effective attacking. The Bulldogs earned a 4-1 lead off of a
stuff block by junior middle blocker Kirby McCord (Huntington
Beach, CA) and senior setter Kelina Smith (Kurtistown, HI). La
Verne rebounded to tie it up at 11 all, but Redlands went on a 5-1
run to go up 16-12. From here the Maroon and Gray took care of
business as Hamilton sealed the 25-21 victory with another
kill.
Facing another must-win situation in the fourth stanza, the
Bulldogs gained an early 4-1 lead again and never relinquished
control of the set. However, La Verne fought back by scoring three
consecutive points to move within one at 22-23. After a timeout for
Redlands, the La Verne attack gave up an untimely hitting error for
the Bulldogs’ set point. But senior outside Crista Jones
(Fresno, CA) crushed one of her match-leading 29 kills to give the
Leopards new life at 23-24. On the next play, senior right side
hitter Katy Douglass (Roseville, CA) hit a ball high that appeared
to sail long but a touch call by the officials resulted in the
necessary 25-23 win for Redlands.
The fifth and deciding set provided the traditional excitement of
these two teams battling it out in fine fashion. La Verne gained an
early 4-3 lead that quickly turned into an 8-4 advantage when the
teams switched sides. Redlands rallied back to tie it at nine
apiece as senior outside hitter Ali Massei (San Carlos, CA) sent
over an ace serve. After trading points that led to a tie score at
12, the Leopards gained another kill from Jones to put La Verne up
by one. Following a Redlands timeout, the Bulldogs suffered a
critical hitting error to give match point to the Leopards. A huge
block by Kraiss and senior middle blocker Ashley Morgado (Hacienda
Heights, CA) on the next play resulted in the exciting victory for
La Verne and the heartbreaking defeat for the Bulldogs.
ULV’s Jones continued to show why she was named the Southern
California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Player of
the Year with her .338 hitting percentage off of 29 kills, four
errors, and 74 swings. She also tallied one ace, nine digs and two
block assists. Junior right side hitter Anna Calmer (La Habra, CA)
contributed 14 kills, while junior libero Chelsea Sleight added 40
digs.
For the Bulldogs, Hamilton knocked down 24 kills at a .247 clip,
while sophomore middle blocker Emily Capozzoli (Poway, CA) backed
her with 10 kills. Senior libero Lauren Harding (Altadena, CA)
patrolled the back row with 40 digs, while Smith dished out 45
assists.
Redlands finished out the season with the best record in school
history at 23-6.
La Verne (23-13) looks forward to playing top-seeded Colorado
College in tomorrow's regional championship match at 7 p.m.
