Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Whittier College Volleyball team continues to roll as they finished 3-1 at the Posada Royale Invitational earning wins over Providence Christian, Life Pacific, and UC Santa Cruz, with their lone loss coming in a tight four setter with Willamette.

With the strong finish, the Poets improve to 7-2 as they open up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play this Friday, September 18 against the University of La Verne beginning at 7:00pm. 

Match 1 (Providence Christian; W, 25-16, 25-22, 25-10)

In yet another straight sets sweep, the Poets got through Providence Christian behind a 12 kills performance from Rebecca Slattery (Los Altos, Calif.).  The next closest was Casie Lowden (Glendora, Calif.) who totaled seven that went along with eight digs.  Torrey Mitsunaga (Culver City, Calif.) and Jasmine Tong (Fullerton, Calif.) split the setting duties finishing with 19 and 14, each respectively.

Jennifer Estrada (Pasadena, Calif.) finished in the back row with 13 digs.     

Match 2 (Life Pacific; W, 25-16, 25-12, 25-14)

Whittier wrapped up day one of the Invitational with a win over Life Pacific, going 2-0 on the day.  Slattery again led the offense this time with 13 kills on 19 attempts for a career high .632 kill percentage.  Lowden got back into double digits with 12 kills, while Mitsunaga had 18 assists and three service aces.

Haley Whyte (Mission Viejo, Calif.) despite only having only three kills in the middle finished with a career high five service aces and three blocks.    

Match 3 (Willamette; L, 25-21, 22-25, 24-26, 24-26)

The Poets jumped out in front of Northwest Conference powerhouse Willamette taking the first set 25-21 behind a .278 hitting percentage but couldn't hold on for the upset as the Bearcats would edge out the Purple & Gold over the next three frames. 

Slattery had a breakout performance with 20 kills and had four block assists.  Lowden had 12 kills and 13 digs, while Mitsunaga had 28 assists up front.  Whyte was a beast up front combining for nine blocks (2 solo; 7 assisted), while Estrada and Clarissa Standafer (Alta Loma, Calif.) totaled 12 and 10 digs, each respectively. 

Match 4 (UC Santa Cruz; W, 25-14, 25-14, 25-23)

Whittier wrapped up the Invitational with a clean sweep over the Banana Slugs, cruising to their seventh win on the season. 

In the first set the Poets held UCSC to a .000 hitting percentage and then forced the Banana Slugs into nine errors that helped give them a 2-0 lead.  Then in the final frame the Poets edged them out 25-23 behind a .202 hitting percentage. 

Slattery totaled a match high 12 kills, Mitsunaga had a match high 18 assists, and Estrada had a match high 14 digs to pace the Poets.