The University of Redlands volleyball team battled it out with No. 23 University of La Verne in Tuesday night's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match in Currier Gym. Despite falling in straight sets, the Bulldogs showed great heart and resilience by extending the third set in an epic finish to the match.
Down two sets, the Maroon and Gray made excellent adjustments to push the Leopards to the limit in a gritty showing on Gary Smith Court. Following 19 tie scores and eight lead-changes, La Verne held on for the 34-32 win to steal the sweep amidst an enthusiastic crowd.
At 11-all, senior right-side hitter Marisa Gile (Yucaipa, CA) and sophomore middle blocker Kiersten Langerud (Williamsburg, VA) stepped up for a monster block to give Redlands the lead for the first time since 3-2. A tough serve by sophomore outside hitter Kailee McCoy (Chandler, AZ) forced the Leopards into a hitting error, giving the home team a two-point advantage. Langerud continued to pressure the Leopard offense with her tough serving, which allowed the Bulldogs to build a 16-12 lead.
However, La Verne's Brittany Yaxley got hot from the service line and rattled off six-straight points to seemingly pull away for the straight-set win.
But the Maroon and Gray had other plans, with McCoy and senior middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA) halting the Leopard attack with a well-timed block to slightly change the momentum in favor of the Bulldogs. McCoy then stepped up with a pair of kills, while freshman outside hitter Kaylee Burdick (Sun Valley, CA) added an ace to tie it up at 22 apiece.
Another McCoy-Martin wall at the net put Redlands ahead, forcing the La Verne head coach to call a timeout.
Two points later, the Bulldogs served for set point at 24-23, but the Leopard offense came alive, as Ashlyn Cross found hardwood at the critical juncture.
From here, the teams went head-to-head in a ridiculous exchange of high-quality rallies. Each team had its fair share of opportunities to close out the set, but the other side of the net kept finding an answer to extend the stanza.
Finally, up 33-32, the Leopards finished off the match, with a Yaxley kill for her 13th of the night.
Overall, Redlands showed great improvement throughout the 15-25, 19-25, 32-34 loss, as evidenced by the tighter scores. In addition, the Leopards' hitting percentage went down every set, beginning with an impressive .565 performance and finishing with a .125 mark.
McCoy led the Maroon and Gray offense with 10 kills at a clip of .292, while Langerud tallied seven kills for a hitting percentage of .417. Junior setter Ellie McLeod (Redlands, CA) dished out 25 assists for the Bulldogs.
Redlands (5-7, 1-4 SCIAC) heads to Whittier College on Friday, October 2, for a 1 p.m. showdown against the Poets, followed by a non-conference tilt against Austin College (TX) at 3 p.m.
