PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech women's volleyball team battled the No. 21 University of La Verne Leopards Tuesday in an evening clash at Braun Gymnasium.

The Beavers entered the contest undaunted by their nationally ranked foe, who came into the matchup with a 15-2 record.

It was Caltech who picked up the early momentum in Set 1 after sophomore OH Sophia Parker connected for a thunderous kill off a feed from senior setter Halle Blend to gain the team serve. The Beavers made it two-in-a-row as Parker posted another kill on the following point.

The Leopards soon tied the match up at 2-2, though a third kill from Parker off another Blend assist put the home team back on top and electrified the Beaver bench in the process.

La Verne tied up the first set again at 3-3 and 4-4, though a nice setup from Blend and an unanswerable kill from senior MB Gabriella Twombly put the Beavers back in front 5-4.

The two teams continued to trade points until the Beavers came up successful in two straight points; sophomore setter/DS Giulia Murgia set up Parker, who logged her fourth kill in 13 points played, before senior MB/OPP Helen Brackney posted her first.

Parker continued to play a vital role for the team as the Leopards continued to hang around. The standout put a button on a significant rally after getting the ball from first-year libero Celine Wu to put the Beavers ahead at 10-9. Blend and sophomore OH Marissa Till then connected to put the team in front 12-11 before the latter fired off another successful attack to put the squad up 13-12.

The Beavers earned a 14-12 lead though La Verne with several impressive points of their own; kills from Blend and senior OH/OPP Claire Perhach were not enough to overcome the Leopards' front line, who squeezed out the 25-20 victory in the first set.

The Beavers began the second set like the first one as they jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead; first-year OH Alize Bakker posted the first ace for the team in the very first point of the set.

The team nabbed a 3-1 lead before La Verne tied the contest up later in the set. A well-placed kill from Blend put the squad in front 10-9 though the Leopards would soon overtake them; three straight kills from Caltech towards the end of the set were not enough to take Set 2.

Despite the score, Caltech entered the third set full of energy; Parker continued to keep the match competitive in the opening point of the set as she notched a ferocious kill off a ball from first-year setter Shreeya Thuppul. The team scored three straight points to go up 5-4 before La Verne pushed ahead to the finish.

Parker finished the night just two kills away from her career high; the sophomore finished the night with 15 total to lead the team. Till logged the second-most kills for the group with nine.

Blend led the Beavers in assists (19) and digs (8); Till and Brackney collaborated for a block. The team posted a .224 hitting percentage.

Next up for head coach Tom Gardner and the squad is an important clash versus Cal Lutheran University in a Friday, Oct. 20 matchup on the road; action is slated to begin at 7 p.m. Follow the game online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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