Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Whittier College volleyball team opened up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play Friday as they let a first set lead slip away en route to a straight sets loss to Pomona-Pitzer 26-24, 25-21, 25-12.

Whittier sophomore Casie Lowden (Glendora, Calif.) led the offensive unit with 12 kills.

The Purple & Gold led 21-19 and then had three set points at 24-21 but a kill by the Sagehens and two errors by the Poets would level the frame at 24-24.  PP would keep the run going as Allie Frappier would add a kill and a block as Pomona-Pitzer would cap off a 5-0 run taking the first set 26-24.

Whittier fell behind early in the second set but fought back to pull within two 20-18 following back to back kills from sophomore Rebecca Slattery (Los Altos, Calif.) and junior transfer Haley Whyte (Mission Viejo, Calif.).  But the poets would only gather another three points as the Sagehens would take the second 25-21.

In the final set, it was all PP as they stormed out to a 20-8 lead before finishing the match off 25-12. 

Slattery finished with nine kills on the evening, with Torrey Mitsunaga (Culver City, Calif.) collecting 29 assists and Ruth Guziec (Glendale, Calif.) totaling a team high 12 digs.