Cal Lutheran to Host SCIAC Volleyball Tournament Semifinals

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The undefeated regular season Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Champion volleyball team has earned the right to host the conference volleyball postseason tournament semifinal matches on Friday, Nov. 5. Cal Lutheran will play Pomona-Pitzer at 7:30 p.m., preceded by the 5 p.m. match between Occidental and La Verne.  

Official Website: 2010 SCIAC Volleyball Postseason Tournament

The highest remaining seed following Friday night's contests will host the tournament final at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6. At stake is the SCIAC's automatic qualifying spot into the NCAA Tournament which is awarded to the winner of the conference tournament.

Cal Lutheran - Pomona-Pitzer (7:30 p.m.)
No. 1 Cal Lutheran (14-0) will host No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer (8-6) in the second semifinal of the evening. The Regals earned a pair of 3-0 wins over the Sagehens during both of their regular season contests including a 25-23, 25-18, 25-23 sweep inside Gilbert Arena on Oct. 23.

Cal Lutheran, currently ranked No. 22 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll and No. 2 in the NCAA West Region rankings, has won 25 straight matches overall and is undefeated inside Gilbert Arena this season (16-0).

The CLU offense is paced by Allison Kerr who is hitting nearly .500 in SCIAC play and ranks second overall with 168 kills. Sophomore setter Jackie Russell is the league leader and the only player with over 500 assists in conference play this season.

Pomona-Pitzer comes in having won three of its last four conference matches, but overall has posted only a 1-5 record against the other three teams in the tournament. That win came in the Sagehens' regular season SCIAC opener in a 3-2 road victory over La Verne back on Sept. 21.

Sagehens senior Eleanor Hughes ranks seventh in the SCIAC and leads the team with 145 kills in conference play. Setter Kenzie Aries is fifth with 411 assists and is averaging nearly nine dimes per set this season.

Occidental - La Verne (5:00 p.m.)
No. 2 Occidental (10-4) will be the designated home team against No. 3 La Verne (8-6) to open the tournament inside Gilbert Arena. The two teams split their regular season matchups with the Leopards winning a five-set thriller at home in the previous meeting on Oct. 26.

The Tigers come in tonight having lost three of its last five conference contests suffering defeats to ULV, CLU and CMS. Prior to that stretch OXY was 9-1 in conference play suffering its lone defeat to the Regals during the first round of SCIAC play. Occidental has not defeated an opponent with a winning record since a 3-0 victory over Pomona-Pitzer back on Oct. 19 and will face a Leopards squad that is firing on all cylinders.

Occidental's offense is led by Logan Boyer-Hayse who is tops in conference play with 218 kills, averaging nearly five per set. Setter Jessie Altman ranks second in SCIAC action dishing out 454 assists during the regular season.

At one point the Leopards were 3-6 in conference play and would not only need to win out but also receive help from other squads to advance into the conference tournament. La Verne won four straight and used a sweep of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on the final night of the regular season to secure its berth for postseason play. From near mathematical elimination to the No. 3 seed in the tournament, the Leopards look to continue its run into the weekend.

ULV's Anna Calmer and Randi Toomay lead a balanced Leopard attack as both are averaging nearly three kills per set in conference play. Sophomore setter Kendall Kraiss ranks sixth in SCIAC action only with 377 assists in 45 sets played.