PASADENA, Calif. — Caltech Volleyball faced off against the Chapman University Panthers on Friday in an evening matchup between two SCIAC squads.

After defeating Pomona-Pitzer and pushing Cal Lutheran University to five sets in the team's most recent home matches, the Beavers entered Braun Gymnasium hungry for another in-conference battle.

The visitors opened the match serving though it was Caltech who struck first as sophomore OH Sophia Parker capped the opening rally with a ferocious kill.

The Panthers responded with a point of their own before the Beavers scored three straight; senior OH/OPP Claire Perhach smacked down an attack for a kill to put the team back up a point before senior setter Halle Blend connected for a kill of her own. The Beavers extended the lead to 3-1 as Parker delivered a well-placed serve for the first ace of the contest.

Caltech doubled the visitors' point total later in the set as a Panther error pushed the Beaver lead to 8-4, though Chapman soon came climbing back as they took a 10-9 advantage. A kill from senior setter Carolyn Lu tied the match up at 10-10 one point later before the Beavers went up 12-10 after forcing two Chapman errors.

The two teams continued to battle as the two teams posted several impressive rallies; three straight points from the Beavers put the team within one of the Panthers later in the contest. A massive block from the 5'7" Blend highlighted the run, electrifying the Caltech bench.

With the guests on top 20-18, Caltech shifted the momentum of the match as they earned five straight points to take a 23-20 lead; two massive kills from senior MB/OPP Helen Brackney highlighted the action in addition to a service ace from Blend.

The Panthers stunningly clawed back into the match to go up 24-23 before the Beavers scored a key point to tie the match at 24-24. The guests scored the final two points of the set to squeak out the set victory.

After swapping sides and taking a brief break, the two teams returned to battle where this time it was sophomore OH Marissa Till who opened the scoring for the Beavers with a kill after getting set up from from first-year libero Celine Wu. The team made it two-in-a-row as Blend stepped up for the kill on the subsequent point.

Till logged two more kills a few moments later; the sophomore scored three of the Beavers' opening four points of the set.

The team began to find a groove later in the action after sophomore setter/DS Giulia Murgia set up Parker and first-year OH Alize Bakker for a pair of late-set kills. Murgia scooped yet another assist two points later as Brackney fired down an attack for a kill, though the Panthers responded with some offense of their own to take the set.

The third set began with Caltech taking a quick 3-1 lead highlighted by a kill from Parker off the assist from Perhach. The set proved a close contest as no team led by more than two points in the first 18 points played.

A huge block from Perhach kept the Beavers close in the middle part of the action, though the Panthers pulled ahead. The Beavers were not done fighting, however, as they scored five out of six straight points to pull within two of Chapman at 22-20. The guests just narrowly earned the final few points to close the set.

Blend led the team in kills in the match with six while Murgia led the way in assists with nine. Perhach and Parker recorded five kills; both players led the team in aces with two apiece. Wu came up with 12 digs.

Both teams recorded six aces total; Caltech notched three solo blocks to Chapman's two.

It will be a quick turnaround for head coach Tom Garnder and the squad as they head to Occidental College on Saturday, Oct. 7 for a 6 p.m. battle with the Tigers. Follow along online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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