Lucila Grinspan - Volleyball

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The CMS volleyball team moved back into a tie for first place in the SCIAC with a 3-0 week, as junior Lucila Grinspan came up big in key spots to help the Athenas earn their way to the sweep.

It was a big week for CMS, as they entered play one game behind Chapman, and had home matches with Cal Lutheran on Tuesday (a rematch of the last six SCIAC championship matches) and Chapman on Saturday, sandwiched around a road trip to Whittier on Friday. 

CMS found itself in a tough battle at Whittier in the so-called "trap match" when Grinspan came off the bench in the third set to help swing the momentum. She entered with the Athenas down by six points in the third set, tied 1-1 after losing the second set 29-27, and she helped spur the comeback with five kills in the set, the last of which tied the score at 24-24 to fight off a Whittier set point. She ended the match with nine kills and 13 digs, despite playing less than two full sets, hitting .417 on the evening. 

That momentum carried over into the big Chapman match on Saturday, as Grinspan led CMS in kills (eight), aces (five) and points (13.5) in a sweep, which moved the Athenas into a tie for first and gave them the tiebreaker advantage with the Panthers. She set the tone right from the start with three aces in an 8-0 run that gave CMS a 9-1 lead in the first set, and the Athenas never looked back. She also had three kills early in an 8-0 run in the third set that turned a 6-5 lead into a 14-5 advantage to effectively put the match away. 

CMS will be back at home on Friday to face Pomona-Pitzer in a match that will also serve as the program's Senior Day.