Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College women's volleyball team got back into SCIAC action after taking part in the Posada Royale Invitational this past weekend and continued where they left off as they swept the University of Redlands 25-21, 25-22, 25-19 in the friendly confines of the Graham Athletic Center.
Whittier now runs their record to 9-16 overall and 4-4 in SCIAC, while Redlands drops to 3-17 overall and 2-7 in SCIAC.
The Poets, after coming off of a 3-0 win over La Verne last week in SCIAC play, continued their dominance on the court as they powered past the Bulldogs. Whittier was paced by sophomore outside hitter Alayna Rigo who tallied 12 kills and seven digs.
In game one, Whittier got down early 10-5 but crawled their way back to tie the game up at 10-10. They lost the lead again but made their way back to take a 13-10 lead – a lead they would not let slip away. Thanks in large part to sophomore Lauren Whiteman who sparked the Poets in game one as she rattled off 6 of her 9 kills to push the Poets past the Bulldogs to take the first set, 25-21.
Whiteman totaled 9 kills in 18 attempts with no errors for a .500 hitting percentage. Coach Oliver explained, "If it wasn't for Lo, we might not have been in game one. She gave us the spark that we needed to win the first set and it carried us throughout the rest of the match." Not only was Whiteman's offense important at the net, she nearly closed out the match serving 7 straight points for the Poets, taking them from 17-17 to 24-17 in the third set.
Not to be overlooked was junior transfer outside hitter Alyssa Sialaris who had another solid game as she totaled 11 kills on 23 attempts for a .391 hitting percentage keeping her in 1st place in SCIAC in kills, while she maintains her presence in the national rankings within the top 25. Sialaris is the lone SCIAC player within the NCAA Div. III Top 25 in kills.
In the back row, the Poets were led by Adriana Moore who collected yet again another double digit digs night with 11.
Alessandra Rios collected another double-double as she tallied 32 assists, three kills, 10 assists, and five block assists. She has been rock solid for the Poets all season and has been showing leadership qualities that the Poets will need in the latter part of the season, as they have their eyes set on making the SCIAC tournament.
Whittier's now tied for 4th in SCIAC play and need to get a couple big wins over Pomona-Pitzer and La Verne, and steal one away from Claremont-M-S to insure their dream of making playoffs for the first time in Ali Oliver's tenure a reality.
The Purple and Gold get back into action as they travel to Pomona-Pitzer for one of the biggest matches of the season as they look to get revenge against the Sagehens from their previous five set loss. This match will take place Friday, October 21 at Pomona-Pitzer beginning at 5pm.
