Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
PASADENA, Calif. – The Whittier College volleyball team got back to their winning ways Saturday evening and moved to .500 on the season at 7-7 when they cruised to a straight sets victory over the Beavers of the California Institute of Technology 25-15, 25-21, 25-20.
With the win Whittier snaps a four game losing streak and now remains in 7TH place in the SCIAC standings with a 2-4 record.
The Poets were led by Alyssa Sialaris who tallied 12 kills on 18 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage. She was joined by Alayna Rigo who for the second straight game didn't reach the double digit kills plateau as she finished with nine on 13 attempts for a .462 hitting percentage.
Freshman Torrey Mitsunaga and junior Maria Montero split time at the setting position both totaling 12 and 11 assists, each respectively.
Defensively, Alyssa Acosta led the charge in the back row for the second straight game totaling 12 digs, while Lindsey Kish finished with nine.
From start to finish it was all Whittier with all twelve players on the roster getting playing time. In the first set Caltech jumped out early 2-0 but then saw Whittier go on a 6-0 run giving the Poets a 6-2 lead and a lead they would not relinquish as they maintained a substantial lead throughout the set getting up by as much as eight helping them grab the first set.
In the second Whittier again jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but this set proved to be a battle as the Beavers continued to remain with three throughout evening the score up at 10-10 and then pulling within one at 16-15. But again that's as close as they would get as Whittier used a 5-0 run to extend their lead giving them a cushion to pull out the second.
In the third, the score remained close once again with Caltech never going away as they stayed within three up until the 22-19 mark before Whittier closed out the match winning three of the next four points.
The Poets return home Tuesday, October 2 when they host the Leopards of the University of La Verne beginning at 7:30pm.
