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In a fierce matchup between conference rivals, the University of La Verne topped Cal Lutheran 3-1 in the first semifinal of the inaugural SCIAC Postseason Tournament Friday at Currier Gym in Redlands.

La Verne prevailed by scores of 27-25, 25-15, 21-25, 30-28 over the Regals.

The victory avenges two earlier defeats to Cal Lutheran during the regular season and sends the Leopards into the finals against the University of Redlands Saturday at 6 pm.  The Bulldogs defeated Pomona-Pitzer 3-1.

The Leopards (21-12) survived an epic fourth set in which they led 23-18 and later held a pair of match points at 24-22 only to watch the Regals respond with consecutive points to deadlock the frame at 24-24.  CLU held off three match points and eventually went up 27-26.  The Leos took the next two points to lead 28-27, but a kill by Cal Lu's Megan Thorpe tied the frame at 28-28. 

Crista Jones put the Leopards back up 29-28 with a kill, then Kendall Kraiss blocked a CLU attack to take the set and the match.

La Verne has won nine of its last 10 games with the only blemish occuring at Cal Lutheran in a 3-2 defeat on Oct. 23 at Thousand Oaks.

In the first set, the teams battled to a 22-22 standoff until a pair of kills from Jones provided the Leos with two match points at 24-22.  Thorpe would return the favor with consecutive kills of her own to notch the frame at 24-24.  Cal Lutheran (20-11) then earned a set point on a block to seize a 25-24 lead, but Jones allowed the Leopards to retake the lead 26-25 on back-to-back kills.  Anna Calmer then finished off the set with a kill to give the Leos a 1-0 set advantage.

Momentum shifted to the Leopards, who mounted an early 10-2 advantage and coasted to a 25-15 set win and a 2-0 lead.  La Verne's offense prospered from a .324 hitting percentage while the Regals struggled to the tune of a .028 clip.

Though La Verne led through the early stages of the third frame, the Regals slowly began to take control as they took their first lead at 17-16 and pull away for a 25-21 set win to avoid the sweep.

The two rivals went toe-to-toe in the fourth set with the Leopards eventually prevailing.  La Verne hit .246 in the fourth frame compared to .172 for CLU.

Overall, the Leos hit .221 while the Regals had a .166 hitting percentage for the contest.  La Verne also enjoyed a 12-6 blocking advantage over its Purple and Gold counterparts.

Jones led the Leopard offensively with a match-high 26 kills on a .323 hitting percentage.  Randi Toomay totaled 15 kills while Anna Calmer added 14.  The setting duo of Yesenia Lopez (32) and Kraiss (25) combined for 57 assists while Chelsea Sleight registered a match-high 32 digs.  Thorpe notched 22 kills for CLU with teammate Rachel Smith adding 15 kills. 

The Leopards and Bulldogs meet for the second time in four days for the right to earn the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament.  The Leos won Tuesday's match 3-1 at Frantz Athletic Court in La Verne.  Redlands took the first meeting between the schools by a 3-2 margin at Currier Gym on October 6.