THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Pacific Lutheran won the first two sets, but the Chapman Panthers battled back to win the next three in taking a 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 19-17 volleyball victory over the Lutes at the Cal-Lu-fornia Invitational on Friday.

In the final match of the night, the Lutes came back from their earlier defeat to take a 25-16, 25-22, 25-20 victory over the Whittier Poets. As a result of the split, the Lutes are now 6-1 this season.

The Lutes, tied for No. 16 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll, started out well against the Panthers, who like the Lutes had participated in the 2009 NCAA postseason tournament. Chapman eventually wore the Lutes down and won their second consecutive five-set victory over a Northwest Conference team. Earlier in the day, the Panthers defeated Willamette University, winning the fifth set by the same 19-17 score that they recorded over PLU.

No statistics were immediately available from either match. PLU plays two more tournament matches on Saturday against La Verne and tournament host Cal Lutheran.

- PLU -