THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The 2014 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament Semifinal games went as expected tonight with No. 18 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defeating No. 25 La Verne in the opening game before No, 3 Cal Lutheran disposed of Pomona-Pitzer in the night cap to set the stage for the championship on Saturday evening.
With a trio of ranked American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) team competing for an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament the excitement was high starting with pre-match chants from LV and concluding with celebrations from both the Athenas and Regals who each won in straight sets.
In the first semifinal the Athenas jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 25-16 victory in the opening game. CMS seemingly used the momentum to their advantage until the Leopards clawed back from a second set deficit to tie the teams at 24-24 and force extra points. The Athenas would remain composed and put the game away at 26-24. The final game was much like the first with LV finding pockets of success, but the court was controlled by CMS finishing with a 25-18 score.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (23-6) had a pair of Athenas reach double figures tonight with Nicole Kerkhof leading all players with 15 kills while teammate Audrey Breitwieser finished with 10. Clara Madsen tallied 19 assists and Tanner Hoke added 18. Hoke contributed with four service aces in the match as well. Defensively, Megan Coleman paced all players with 13 digs and Kerkhof had 11. Mariah Rigg recorded three block assists and Sarah Bruml had the only solo stop of the night. Overall, CMS hit .244 as a team in the contest.
La Verne (20-6) looked to Brittany Yaxley for a team-high 13 kills as the only Leopards player in double digits. Tiffany Mancuso set for 15 assists and LV teamed up for two service aces. Defensively, Anna Suarez led the pack with 12 digs and Ashlyn Cross finished with 11. At the net Cassie Thompson was a menace with seven block assists while Kelsi Robinson chipped in with five and Kylie Cook had four. LV hit .157 as a team against the second-seed.
In the second semifinal, Cal Lutheran swept past Pomona-Pitzer with a team hitting percentage of .310 on a night when two players, Hannah Orlandi and Pua Mo'okini-Oliveira each hit over .400 at .444 and .412, respectively, and three others reached double figures for the Regals.
The host team took an early lead, but Pomona-Pitzer came out fired up and turned the score in their favor, opening as much as an 8-5 advantage in the first set. A block from Allie Eason and Sarah Pappas shifted the momentum back to CLU and the Regals went on to win 25-21 in the closest game of the series. Though there were nine ties in the set, Cal Lutheran remained focused and battled for every point. The final tie was broken on a kill from Michelle Lawrence to give the Violet and Gold a 22-21 edge. PP was unable to convert over the final three plays with a pair of hitting errors and a bad set.
As the night went on the dominating nature of the CLU squad grew stronger, winning by 25-19 and 25-14 margins to close out the match and clinch a spot in the finale.
Mo'okini-Oliveira started and ended the second set with kills. At 4-4, a kill from Pappas turned into a 5-4 lead for CLU and the Regals never looked back.
CLU made a statement in the third and final game, jumping out to an 11-1 lead with nine kills on hot hitting from Eason, Lawrence, Pappas and Mo'okini-Oliveira with Lawrence notching four during that span. On a night that had its fair share of defensive stands on both sides of the net, fittingly, Mo'okini-Oliveira and Pappas ended the game and match on a block.
Pomona-Pitzer (19-10) was led by Ellen Yamasaki who tied Lawrence for a match-high 14 kills and Allie Frappier chipped in with a dozen. Jessica Finn and Elizabeth Sun shared the setting duties, combining for 25 assists. PP had no service aces tonight. Defensively, Samantha Cahill finished with three block assists and Kelli Derrah had two. Michelle Schultz led all players with 15 digs and Yamasaki was one back with 14. The Hens combined to hit just .120.
Cal Lutheran (27-2) got a 14-kill night from Lawrence with Eason tallying 12 and Pappas putting down 10. Mo'okini-Oliveira was one back with nine. Kennedy Peters set 26 times and Jena Chavez finished with 12. The three service aces came from Chavez, Peters and Nicki Tetherow who contributed with 11 digs, second on the squad to Eason's 12. Both Lawrence and Peters notched nine digs. Pappas was a rock at the net with six block assists and Eason and Mo'okini-Oliveira had three apiece.
The tournament champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament. Regional play is set for Nov. 14-16 at sites yet to be determined with the NCAA Division III National Championships scheduled at the between Nov. 21-23 in Newport News, Va.
Tickets and t-shirts will be sold in the lobby of the Gilbert Arena. Children under the age of 12, current students, faculty and staff with ID receive free admittance. Admission for all others is $5 per day. T-shirts are priced at $15 (short sleeves) and $20 (long sleeves). Doors will open at 5:00 p.m.
Box Score: CMS 3, LV 0
Box Score: CLU 3, PP 0
Tournament Central: 2014 SCIAC PST Website
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