 Location La Verne, Calif. Founded 1891 Enrollment 1,600 Colors Green and Orange Nickname Leopards National Affiliation NCAA Division III Conference Southern Calif. Intercollegiate Athletic President Steve Morgan |
| HOW THEY GOT HERE: La Verne comes in with a 32-3 record and a top five national ranking all season. La Verne won its 18th Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship in 2004 with a perfect 14-0 record, along with its 50th consecutive win in conference play.… The Leopards claimed the West Regional by defeating Northwest Conference Champion Pacific Lutheran 3-1 and top-seeded host Cal State Hayward 3-2. La Verne swept past No. 2 Wittenberg in the quarterfinal round to earn its second straight trip to the national semifinals. TOURNAMENT NOTES: The Leopards are aiming for their fourth national championship – the last one coming three years ago in 2001. … La Verne won the AIAW Championship in 1981, followed by its first NCAA national championship the following year. … Over the past five seasons, La Verne has captured five straight SCIAC Conference championships and three West Regional titles (2001, 2003, 2004). … Last season the Leopards fell 3-0 to eventual champion Washington University in the NCAA semifinals. … ULV’s three losses this season came on the road at Division II Cal Poly Pomona (Sept. 14), Mt. St. Joseph’s (Sept. 17) and Cal State Hayward (Oct. 15). … The Leopards reached the 30-win plateau for only the third time in school history. ULV’s 32 wins this season are the second-most ever in the history of the La Verne volleyball program. … La Verne has 21 All-America selections in school history to go along with its 18 SCIAC Championships. … Senior outside hitter Amy Kratochvil, a 2004 AVCA First Team All-American and the 2004 SCIAC Player of the Year, paces the Leopards in kills per game (3.84), while also averaging 3.80 digs per game and boasting a .281 hitting percentage. Kratochvil is a two-time SCIAC Player of the Year and a three-time AVCA All-American. She also earned conference player of the year honors in 2002 and was an AVCA Third-Team All-America selection in 2002 and a Second-Team selection in 2003. … Senior middle blocker Tricia Schary, a 2004 AVCA Second-Team All-American, is hitting a team-best .369 in her senior campaign and also leads ULV in blocks at 1.13 per game. Schary was the SCIAC Player of the Year and an AVCA First Team selection in 2003. … Seniors Amanda Thomas and Adele Jones joined Schary on the All-SCIAC First Team. … Thomas has tallied 1,304 assists from the setter position this season, an average of 11.34 per game. She also leads the team in service aces with 70. Sedia hit .328, while registering 104 total blocks this season. Both Thomas and Sedia were named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America. |