ORANGE, Calif. — The Chapman University women's volleyball team is back in the SCIAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed. The Panthers will take on fourth-seeded La Verne on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Before the cat fight to open the SCIAC Women's Volleyball Tournament, catch up on the 2026 Panthers.
SEASON SPLIT
The Panthers and Leopards split their season series with the home team winning both matches. The Leopard won in four and the Panthers took the home win in five. The Leopards claimed the fourth seed in the SCIAC Tournament just a half game above Chapman in the SCIAC standings.
PUGH LEADS THE WAY
Freshman Sasha Pugh has led the Chapman attack all year. The middle blocker leads the team in kills, attempts and hitting percentage. She ranks first in the SCIAC with 3.78 kills per set during the SCIAC season and ranks sixth in hitting percentage. As she heads into her first postseason, she ranks just outside Chapman's top-5 for kills in a season. Pugh has double digit kills in 19 of the Panthers' 24 matches and has eclipsed 20 kills three times.
ACED
Clara Cronin ranks third all-time at Chapman with 116 career aces. She has served 32 in her senior season – just one less than her career-high, which she recorded as a freshman. As a freshman, she also broke the school record with eight aces in a match against UC Santa Cruz. This season, she nearly matched that record with seven at Azusa Pacific. Her 1,361 digs also rank third all-time at Chapman. She has a career-high 393 digs this season.
BRADBURY INTO THE TOP-5
Ava Bradbury had a breakout sophomore season, setting the Chapman record for blocks in a season. She hasn't quite matched that total in her junior season but still ranks in the top-10 in the SCIAC for blocks per set during the SCIAC season. Her 88 blocks this year have moved her into fourth all-time at Chapman. With 214 total blocks in her career, she will be well within reach of Panthers' all-time record of 261 her senior season.
LOOKING FOR ROAD MAGIC
The road has been a tough place to play this SCIAC season and the Panthers have are looking to reverse that fortune in the SCIAC Tournament. Chapman scored upsets of CMS and La Verne on the way to a 6-2 record in the Hutton Sports Center. However, the Panthers are 6-10 away from home and 2-8 in true road games. Their two road wins came at Caltech and at Occidental. One of the Panthers four neutral site wins came inside the Tents at La Verne – a 3-1 victory over Lasell to start the season.
