Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Whittier College Volleyball team opened up the Pacific Coast Classic Friday but was swept by George Fox University and Steven's dropping their record to 1-2.

Game 1 (George Fox University – L, 25-27, 25-17, 22-25, 23-25)

Whittier got onto the court early on day one of the classic.  The first set was a nail-biter going back and forth before the Bruins were able to grab the edge 27-25.  The Purple & Gold though bounced back in the second however to level the match hitting an impressive .333 winning 25-17 but couldn't pull off the third or fourth sets following in seesaw battles 25-22 and 25-23.

Each set came down to the wire and could have gone either way.  Rebecca Slattery (Los Altos, Calif.) once again led the Poets finishing with a game high 18 kills, while Olive Anagu (Culver City, Calif.) was the only other Poet in double figures registering 15 kills on 28 attempts for a .464 hitting percentage, while picking up eight digs.

Alexis Mills (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) again was big up front with four kills hitting .556, had five digs and three block assists.

Hannah Joyce (Newport Beach, Calif.) led the trio of setters with 29 assists, while Jasmine Tong (Fullerton, Calif.) had 13. 

Clarissa Standafer (Alta Loma, Calif.) led the backrow with 14 digs, while freshman Katie Engle (Whittier, Calif.) had nine.     

Game 2 (Steven's – 21-25, 11-25, 19-25)

Whittier remained on court for their second match and faced a tough Steven's squad who limited mistakes to pull off the clean sweep. 

WC fought falling 25-21 in the first set but couldn't gain any momentum in the second two. 

Slattery was the lone Poet in double figures with 13.  Anagu had nine with nine digs, while Sydney Underwood (Spokane, WA) had five.

Joyce totaled 18 assists, while freshman Camryn Purdom (Moreno Valley, Calif.) had eight and Standafer had 10 digs in the backrow.     

Whittier looks to rebound on the second day, tomorrow, Saturday, September 3 when they take on Hendrix (9:00am) and St. John Fisher (11:15am).