Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Whittier College volleyball team dropped two tight five set decisions Friday afternoon to nationally ranked opponents in Juniata and Cal Lutheran after having a 2-1 lead in both matches.

Whittier now drops to 7-10, 2-6 SCIAC and have now lost seven of their last eight matches.

Game 1 (Juniata – L, 18-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 15-4)

In the first game of the double header Whittier found themselves matched up against a very strong Juniata program but stepped up to the occasion showing they belonged as they jumped out in front early. 

Despite having a .149 hitting percentage for the game, Whittier showed their power behind Alyssa Sialaris  who finished with a game high 25 kills on 56 attempts, while Alayna Rigo finished with 14 kills to go with 17 digs.

Lauren Whiteman returned to the lineup after suffering a concussion last week and finished with seven kills on 16 attempts.

Freshman Torrey Mitsunaga played all five sets and recorded a game and career high 40 assists, while Alyssa Acosta, Victoria Larios, and Sialaris finished with double digit digs.          

Game 2 (Cal Lutheran – L, 15-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 15-8)

In the second game of the doubleheader, Whittier found themselves up two sets to one and had a 17-13 lead in the fourth set until Cal Lutheran mounted a comeback rallying back to take Set 4 and Set 5 to clinch the five set victory.  In the first set Whittier capitalized off of 11 Cal Lutheran attacking errors and cruised to the 25-15 first set win. 

After Cal Lutheran took set number two, Whittier bounced back in the third after falling behind early 4-1.  They would go on their own run adding eight of the next nine points to build a 20-16 lead but after three consecutive defensive stops by the Regals the Poet lead fell to two at 21-19.  But senior outside hitter Sialaris was too much down the stretch finishing the set with two of her game high 26 kills to help the Poets take the set 25-22. Sialaris also registered 23 digs. 

In the fourth set it looked like Whittier would finish off Cal Lutheran as they jumped out to a 17-13 lead, but Regal Head Coach subbed in the SCIAC kills leader Kylie McLogan who has not played a match in the past two weeks due to an injury but what a difference she made as she fired off four kills in the game's final seven points helping CLU grab the fourth set and carry momentum into the fifth.

In the final set, Cal Lutheran jumped out to a 6-1 lead but that's as close as the Poets would get as the Regals held on for the seven point victory.

Junior Rigo also finished with a double double with 15 kills and 23 digs, while Acosta and Lindsey Kish finished with 11 and 10 digs, each respectively.

Freshman setter Mitsunaga got the start and finished with 32 assists, while Maria Montero finished with 11.     

The Poets continue with SCIAC play as they host the Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer tomorrow, Saturday, October 6 beginning at 3:00pm.