ORANGE, Calif — Women's volleyball fought hard against the top-ranked Claremont-M-S Athenas, nearly scoring the first set off of the Athenas in conference play, falling 3-0 Tuesday, Oct. 18 with set scores of 25-16, 27-25 and 25-16.

The Panthers were facing set point in the second, 25-24, after a kill from Leighton Gagnon, and the Athenas were on their heels; a chance at losing their first set in conference play and only their fourth set all season (21 games).

However, a two point swing with a kill and a bad set helped the Athenas stay perfect in the conference season, but not without a tenacious fight from Chapman. Cat Helgeson collected nine of her 17 digs in the set — quite theatrically at that, diving all over the floor. And an electrified Panthers squad pushed CMS to its limits.

Chapman forced CMS to their third lowest hitting percentage of the season, .224.

Following the loss, Chapman fell to 6-13 on the season and 4-8 in SCIAC play. CMS improved to a perfect 21-0, 11-0. 

The Panthers will remain at home on Friday as they will take on the UCSC Banana Slugs in a rematch from earlier in the season, in which the Panthers lost 3-1 at 7 p.m.

By Joe Perrino

Assistant SID / Recreation Sports Manager

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