LA VERNE, Calif. – The University of Redlands volleyball team opened up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play Tuesday night on the road against the University of La Verne.
After a slow start the Bulldogs found their footing, but it was too late as the Leopards would go on to pick up the clean sweep 25-12, 25-16, 25-9. Redlands is still searching for their first win of 2022 as they drop to 0-5, 0-1 SCIAC, while La Verne improves to 7-3, 1-0 SCIAC.
The Maroon and Grey had a pair of leads early at 2-0 and 3-1 following a couple of Leopard errors and a kill from Shelby Dawson (Fontana, CA). Despite the great start, the Bulldogs would allow a 9-0 run that opened the set up allowing ULV to take control early. Kiana Stradford (Mission Viejo, CA), Paige Sugg (Federal Way, WA), and Avery Aminoff (Alexandria, VA) all posted kills during the stanza, but they were unable to spark a comeback.
The second set started the way the first ended, with the Leopards taking control, winning eight of the first ten points. Stradford, though, did start a 3-0 Bulldog run that brought them within three at 8-5 thanks to a kill in the middle. After a second run from La Verne, Redlands was able to stay attached with a 6-3 advantage putting them down five, 18-13. Sugg had a pair of kills, Bailey Hoblitzell (Elk Grove, CA) had her first kill of the match and Maddy Schonauer (Bakersfield, CA) would lay down an ace.
The Bulldogs' opportunity in the second set came to an end following four unanswered from the Leopards as they would win seven of the final ten points to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third, UR went on top early after a Leopard service error and another kill from Dawson. Despite the encouraging start, La Verne quickly ended the Bulldogs attempt to extend the match as they would put together a 9-1 run, moving the score to 10-3. The Leopards would never lead by fewer than six and led by as many as 16, which happened to be the final score 25-9. Katie Allbery (Spokane, WA) led the Bulldogs with a pair of kills and Kylie Martin (Centennial, CO) posted her first kill of the match. Ella Goettsche (Eastvale, CA) ran the offense with three assists.
The Bulldogs did not make their life easy in the match, posting 22 hitting errors, three service errors, seven receiving errors, and a blocking error. They had thirteen more errors than the Leopards.
The game leaders for the Bulldogs included Stradford and Sugg with four kills apiece, Goettsche with 10 assists, a new career-high, and Laural Pittman (Los Angeles) and Schonauer each with five digs.
Redlands returns to the court this Saturday, September 24 when they host California Lutheran University beginning at 3:00pm inside Currier Gym.