Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Whittier College Volleyball team ended September play Saturday afternoon as they took on No. 9 Claremont-M-S inside of Roberts Pavilion.
The Purple & Gold found it tough to get any offense going against the Athenas falling in three sets 25-15, 25-18, 25-21.
Whittier drops now to 10-5, 4-3 SCIAC, while Claremont-M-S improves to 11-5, 4-1 SCIAC. Whittier remains in the hunt for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) berth as they remain in 4th place in the SCIAC Standings.
Ashley Whittall (Norwalk, Calif.) led the Poets with eight kills, while Alaina Rhee (Kent, WA) and Aubrey Caires (Garnderville, NV) added five a piece. Camryn Purdom (Moreno Valley, Calif.) led the point and finished with 21 assists, while Clarissa Standafer (Alta Loma, Calif.) added 16 digs.
CMS used a stretch of seven in a row to take a 16-6 lead in the first set. Whittier got within six on a couple of occasions late but the final four of the frame would go with the Athenas. The Poets started off strong in the second winning four of the first five points and then increased their lead to 8-3 before a 7-0 run by the Athenas would put them on top at 10-8. Whittall would add back to back kills soon after to tie things up but that's as close as WC would get as CMS would add a late 3-0 run to put the Poets in a hole.
The Poets tried to claw their way back in the third set keeping it deadlocked on four occasions late with the last coming at 19-19 but an ensuing 4-1 run by the Athenas would take the momentum away from the Purple & Gold as they would go on to claim the sweep.
Whittier begins October play this Tuesday, October 3 as they host the University of La Verne beginning at 7:00pm.
