Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

LA VERNE, Calif. – In two matches the Poets combined for 54 kills and 10 aces but dropped a pair of games to UC Santa Cruz and La Verne on Saturday. The match with the Leopards was the SCIAC opener for the purple and gold.

Whittier faced UC Santa Cruz in the first match of its Saturday twin bill and lost in straight sets, 25-19, 25-21, 25-18. The Poets were led offensively by Shannon Orlins who had a team-high seven kills.

Orlins added a solo block and two assisted blocks in the loss.

Alayna Rigo made good on five of her 22 attacks. In addition to her efforts offensively, she finished second on the team with seven digs.

Lindsey Kish and Maria Montero each had two aces while Montero added a team-high 10 assists. Kish chipped in with five assists while Vanessa Amran had six. Lauren Whiteman joined Orlins as the only other Poet to record a solo block.

In Whittier's second set, the team managed a combined 10 kills which was its highest total of the first match.

The night cap of the doubleheader was similar as the Poets lost 3-0. The Leopards won in straight sets, 25-18, 25-17, 25-13.

Whiteman recorded a team-high nine kills while Kish, Orlins, Rigo and Nicole Boyer all had four.

Amran had 17 of the team's 21 assists and finished with four digs. Adriana Moore had a team-high 12 digs and Alyssa Acosta had 11.

Rigo had a pair of aces, Whiteman and Moore each added one but as a team the Poets had five serving errors.

The Poets hit double-digits in kills total in two of the three sets they played against La Verne.

Whittier returns to action on Tuesday, September 21, as it hosts Cal Lutheran at 7:30 pm.