Tigers put up fight, fall to Leopards

LA VERNE, Calif. (Sept. 22, 2009) – As the Tigers continue to improve each match, they again made strides on the road today, competing with the nine-time consecutive University of La Verne Leopards. Although they fell in straight sets, the Tigers put up a fight in the opening match and played well throughout the contest.

Occidental was trailing by one in the opening set before a long hit sealed the win for the Leos, 25-23. ULV controlled the final two matches as they improved to 2-0 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action while the Tigers suffered their first conference loss of the season and are now 2-1.

Logan Boyer-Hayse led all Tigers with 10 kills, also recording a team-high 17 digs as the Tigers out-dug the Leos 69 to 58. That was, however, the only category in which the Tigers had the upper hand. Occidental did record 4.0 blocks, with Gwynne Davis notching the lone solo block. She also hit at a .375 clip, earning five kills in eight chance.

Freshman Kasey Rose was next in line for both kills (nine) and digs (14), adding a pair of aces. One dig behind Rose was classmate, and libero, Ana Kurnizki, who finished with 13.

The Tigers will hit the road this weekend as they travel to Santa Cruz, Calif. where they will play four matches over two days at the UCSC Slugfest.