Colorado College won the 2009 Molten Volleyball Spike It Up Classic and strengthened its grip on the No. 1 ranking in the West Region by sweeping Chapman University twice on Saturday.
The 14th-ranked Tigers began the day with a 25-15, 25-21, 25-19 over the Panthers in the round-robin portion of the tournament, and then claimed the tournament title with a 25-16, 25-16, 25-19 victory on Saturday night.
Colorado College improved to 29-3 and extended its current winning streak to eight matches. The Tigers have won 51 off 55 sets at home this season and now have won 25 consecutive matches at Reid Gymnasium.
Junior middle blocker Erika Pirotte was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player by the opposing coaches after hitting .349 with 22 on 63 attacks, and adding 20 digs and 13 blocked shots on the defensive side of the net.
Junior middle blocker Emily Perkins and sophomore setter Amy Schornack also were voted to the all-tournament team.
Meredith Ballard had 10 kills and hit .474 to lead the Tiger attack in the championship match. Perkins had nine kills and nine blocked shots, while Laura Goldsmith added nine kills and a team-high 18 digs.
Colorado College cruised through the first two sets, but Chapman never gave up and built a 12-9 lead in the third set. Still trailing 15-13, the Tigers scored six consecutive points which ignited a match-ending 13-4 run.
Nalani Haviland recorded seven kills to lead the Panther offense, while Linda Ly had a match-high 19 digs. Both were voted to the all-tournament team.
CC recorded a season-high 15 blocked shots and held Chapman to a .025 team hitting percentage during the first match of the day. Perkins had three solos and six assists to come within one of her single-game high of 10 set twice during her freshman season in 2007.
Perkins also had a match-high 13 kills to reach double figures for the 20th time this season. Pirotte added a season-best 10 kills and had a hand in six blocks.
Lindsay Cargile led the Panthers with eight kills, while Kat Kowalski and Ly tied for match-high honors with 13 digs.
Colorado College returns to action on Wednesday when the Tigers play their final road match of the regular season at Johnson & Wales University in Denver.
