LA VERNE, Calif. — Occidental College fell to the University of La Verne in straight sets, 25-9, 25-19, 25-13, on Thursday evening at the Sports Science Athletic Pavilion. La Verne (23-1, 14-1 SCIAC) capitalized on an efficient attack, recording 35 kills to Occidental's 19.

Occidental began the first set on the backfoot as La Verne opened with a strong 7-0 run, capitalizing on an attack error and a series of kills from Mya Ray. Ariana Carranza broke the streak with a kill assisted by Lila Payne to put Occidental on the scoreboard.

Despite efforts to close the gap, including a kill from Jasmine Shum, the Tigers faced challenges maintaining momentum. A brief surge saw them capitalize on a service error and an attack error by La Verne's Lexi Giacobbe, narrowing the margin slightly. However, La Verne continued to apply pressure, eventually closing the set 25-9 with a series of successful kills and an ace.

Occidental started the second set with a strong offensive burst, highlighted by Lila Payne's service ace and Ariana Carranza's kill, quickly establishing a 3-0 lead. Despite this early momentum, La Verne responded with a series of successful plays from Zacky Coaston and Lauren Gott, shifting the score to a 5-4 advantage for the Leopards.

The Tigers kept pace, with key contributions from Corinne Van Haeren and Jasmine Shum narrowing the gap. However, the Leopards capitalized on a string of points, extending their lead to 19-11. Occidental rallied late in the set, with Sloane Shoop delivering back-to-back kills to cut the deficit to 20-16, but La Verne maintained control. The set concluded with the Leopards securing a 25-19 win after a service ace and a final attack error by Occidental.

Occidental opened the third set facing a challenging start as La Verne quickly established momentum with a series of blocks and kills, moving ahead 7-1. Despite service errors from La Verne that interrupted their scoring run, the Tigers struggled to capitalize fully, with several attack errors allowing the Leopards to extend their lead to 11-3.

Momentum shifted slightly when Occidental found a rhythm with key plays from Carranza and Shum, narrowing the gap to 12-6. However, the Leopards consistently answered back with effective plays, maintaining a steady lead. As the set progressed, Occidental managed to add points through kills by Carranza and Shum, but continued attack errors hindered their efforts to close the gap significantly.

La Verne retained control as the set concluded, with Mya Ray contributing crucial points for the home team. Despite a late push by Occidental, the set concluded with La Verne securing a 25-13 victory, maintaining their lead.

Occidental Top Performers

Ariana Carranza  
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- 8 kills  
- 3 block assists  
- 4 digs  
- 9.5 points  

Kendall Taylor  
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- 8 assists  
- 3 digs  

Jasmine Shum  
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- 5 kills  
- 8 digs  
- 5.0 points  

Lila Payne  
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- 9 assists  
- 7 digs  
- 1 service ace  

Eyleen Sanchez  
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- 14 digs  
- 2 assists  

Volleyball will celebrate their seniors on senior night this Saturday, November 8th before their 4pm game against the University of Redlands Bulldogs.