LA VERNE, Calif. - The 2024-25 Centre Athletics calendar officially got underway on Friday afternoon as the Centre volleyball team headed to the west coast to compete in the Pacific Coast classic against some of the top teams in California. In Friday's doubleheader, the Colonels came away with a split, defeating Whittier in five sets before falling to no. 15 La Verne in three.

Game 1: Centre 3, Whittier 2

- Whittier got off to a hot start in the opening set as the Poets jumped out to a 12-3 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 25-13 win to take the early advantage in the match.
- The Colonels had to battle from behind in the second set, trailing by as many as seven points at 22-15 before mounting a furious late comeback. Centre scored three quick points before Whittier scored the next two to force a set point at 24-18. The Colonels showed tremendous resolve as they scored the next eight points to take a shocking 26-24 victory, with two kills from Mack Turner and two aces from June Padilla in the rally.
- In the third set, the lead changed hands several times before Centre took advantage midway through, gradually extending their lead and eventually winning 25-19 to take a 2-1 lead as Turner put home the closing kill.
- The fourth set saw Centre and Whittier each make huge runs early on. The Colonels reeled off a 10-1 blast to take a 13-8 lead before Whittier scored 13 of the next 15 points to take the lead for good, extending the match to a fifth and final set with a 25-19 win.
- The Colonels took control of the fifth set from the jump as they scored six of the first seven points of the frame. The Poets cut the lead to a single point twice, but Abby Swartz took over the final stages of play, scoring Centre's last three points with a kill, a tandem block with Hollye Tate and an ace for the clincher as the Colonels took the match with a 15-12 victory.

Game 2: La Verne 3, Centre 0

- The first set proved to be the most competitive set of the day in either of the Colonels' games. After a handful of lead changes and ties, Centre slowly extended to a 23-17 edge before the no. 15 Leopards fought off several set points to extend the set. Neither team was able to put together consecutive points for a while before La Verne came through with two straight to take a 29-27 win.
- In the second set, the teams kept it close through the first half before ULV went on the first big run of the set, scoring the last six points to win by a score of 25-17.
- The third set played out in similar fashion, with the Colonels having to play from behind early, rallying to tie the score around the midway point before ULV pulled away for a 25-19 win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORES

- Turner set a new career high with 15 kills to lead all players against Whittier while also hitting a team high .276. Syd Bietz added 14 kills, while Tate also set a new career high mark with a dozen kills. Bietz led the Colonels with seven kills against ULV
- Emily Gardner finished with 43 assists, four more than Whittier recorded as a team. Her 21 assists against La Verne were also a game high.
- Centre held an 83-72 edge over Whittier in digs, with Madi Barron's 28 leading the way. Barron finished with a team high 11 digs against La Verne, with Padilla and Emersyn Pannell each adding ten.

NEXT UP

Centre volleyball will conclude the Pacific Coast Classic on Saturday as they play no. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer to wrap up the west coast road trip.