CLAREMONT, Calif. - The 17th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team battled from behind repeatedly against top-ranked La Verne, but the Leopards were able to prevail with a three-set win on Tuesday evening at Roberts Pavilion. 

Set scores were 25-22, 25-18, 25-22 as the Leopards were able to hold off the Athenas late in each set. The loss drops CMS to 8-4 overall and 2-1 in the SCIAC, while La Verne remains undefeated at 12-0 overall and 3-0 in league play. 

Shae Delany had a strong match for CMS with 14 kills in 33 attempts, to go along with 10 digs, while Brooke McKee also had a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Reigning SCIAC Player of the Year Mya Ray finished with 21 kills in 37 attempts for the Leopards. 

CMS trailed 19-8 in the first set, but went on a 6-0 run to get back within 19-14, keyed by two McKee aces. Another 4-0 run got CMS within 21-18, and a block from Ari Clarkson and Solvej Eversoll made it a 22-20 score. After La Verne went ahead 24-20 on two straight Ray kills, Delany fought off one set point, and an error got CMS within 24-22, but Lauren Gott finished off the set with a kill. 

La Verne went used a 4-0 run to take a 17-10 lead in the second set, and capture a 25-18 win, and the Leopards seemed poise to pull away again in the third with a 19-13 lead, but CMS pulled even at 21-21. A 5-0 run, keyed by two kills and a block from Shorney and an ace from McKee made it 19-18, and two straight kills from Eversoll and Delany tied it at 21-21. Ray brke the deadlock, and a block and an ace made it 24-21. Delany fought off one match point, but Ray finished it with her 21st kill. 

 CMS will be back in action on Friday night at Redlands, before returning home to face Occidental on Saturday at 4 p.m.