Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College volleyball team played its first game of the 2010 season on Dave Jacobs Court tonight but fell short of earning its first SCIAC win of the year as Cal Lutheran handed the Poets their third sweep in as many outings.

Whittier (1-9, 0-2 SCIAC) faced a 2-0 hole to one of the perennial powers of the conference but didn't back down in the third set. The Poets matched the Regals (6-3, 1-0 SCIAC) point-for-point through the early part of the match and took their first lead at 8-7.

Cal Lutheran, who went on runs in both the first and second sets to put those out of reach, build as large as  a 17-13 lead before the Poets stopped the bleeding and got back into the match.

WC hung tough and got within a point at 22-21 but couldn't overcome the deficit and ultimately fell, 25-22.

A big run by the Regals in the first set let to a 25-18 win for CLU and a handful of errors was behind the 25-9 loss for the Poets in the second set.

Courtney Dickerson used both power and finesse to lead the team with six kills while Lauren Whiteman, Alayna Rigo and Nicole Boyer all had three.

The Poets turned to Vanessa Amran to set-up the kills as the senior led the purple and gold with 13 assists.

On the defensive side, the combination of Amran and fellow senior Shannon Orlins made for a nice wall as the two had their hands in 11 blocks.

The Poets return to action on Friday night as they travel to Claremont, Calif., to face the Athenas at 7:30 pm.