Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College Volleyball team looking for one of the biggest upsets in program history were unable to hold a 2-1 lead Tuesday night as they provided a scare for No. 21 the University of La Verne falling in five 3-2.
Despite the loss the Poets remain in fourth place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings at 14-7, 5-4 SCIAC, while La Verne moves their SCIAC winning streak to nine games improving to 15-3, 9-1 SCIAC.
After a tight loss to No. 2 Juniata this past weekend, Whittier was ready for a shoot-out in the Graham Athletic Center and it ended up being one with the Purple & Gold taking the second and third sets to put the Leos in a hole before they fell in five.
"Tonight we just stayed the course," explained Head Coach Chris Duarte-McDermott. I thought our girls defended well in the backrow, got some great touches on the block and took big swings when we needed them. We had a lot of fight and forced La Verne to play."
After dropping the first set 25-18, Whittier fought in the second to keep the set close. They found themselves trailing 15-12 midway through but two attacking errors by Ashlyn Cross and a Jasmine Tong (Fullerton, Calif.) service ace would pull WC back even. Whittier continued to scrap putting together a mini-run of three straight sparked by a service ace from Jennifer Estrada (Pasadena, Calif.) that gave the Poets a four point advantage. Kelsi Robinson would stop the run with a kill that pulled ULV within three but that's as close as they would get as Whittier would ride the momentum with a 4-1 run to close out the frame led by Rebecca Slattery (Los Altos, Calif.) who had two kills.
Whittier kept the momentum going in the third holding a slight advantage throughout before taking a 17-14 lead. Cross would give then ULV a lead at 21-19 with three straight but the Purple & Gold would swing the advantage back onto their side outscoring the Leos 8-2 over the next 10 points. The run would be capped off with a block up front by Haley Whyte (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Slattery on three time 1st Team All-SCIAC performer Yaxley that put Whittier in front 2-1.
In the fourth, La Verne gained the momentum back putting away 19 kills for a .333 hitting percentage that helped them rattle off seven unanswered giving them a 12-5 lead early. Whittier made a late run when they ran off five of their own with kills from Slattery, Anagu (2), and Alexis Mills (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) to pull within three 21-18. But Brittany Yaxley and Cassie Thompson would create cushion with two consecutive kills that would help La Verne force a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth, Whittier jumped in front 3-1 with a kill from Casie Lowden (Glendora, Calif.) and two attacking errors by ULV, but soon after Robinson would go on a serving spree with eight in a row that put the Leopards in front 9-3. Whyte and Anagu attempted to pull the Poets closer with three of their own to cut the deficit to three at 9-6 but an ensuing 6-1 run would give ULV the decisive fifth that helped them escape with the road victory.
Three players were in double digits with kills led by Anagu with 14 with the other two being Lowden (13) who also had 17 digs and Slattery (12). Mitsunaga finished with 21 assists and 12 digs, while Tong totaled a double double of 19 assists and 13 digs. Estrada finished in the backrow with 18 digs, while Whyte and Slattery each picked up three blocks apiece.
"This game was a great test and shows how much better and how quickly our girls are improving," Duarte-McDermott stated. "I think in order to pull off an upset is to not think of it as an upset but realize that we deserve to be in the same conversation with those teams and to believe that we can compete with them. We need to play Whittier College Volleyball and not play tight or unsure at the end of each set."
Whittier looks to bounce back and carry their strong play into this weekend, Saturday, October 17 when they travel to Thousand Oaks, Calif. to take on the Regals of Cal Lutheran. Gametime is set for 6:00pm.
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