WHITTIER, Calif. (Oct. 15, 2021) – The Whitter College volleyball team, led by another sterling performance from senior outside hitter Katelyn Popoff (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / Sonora), nearly pulled off a monumental comeback from two sets down over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Friday night.

Popoff had 16 kills on 39 total attacks to go with 13 digs, marking the fourth-straight game the senior has had at least 10 kills and 10 digs. Five of her kills came in a dominant fourth set for Whittier where they hit .269 collectively. Seniors Madisen Diaz (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / Bishop Amat) and Julia Trujillo (Chino, Calif. / Univ. of La Verne) helped keep the Poets afloat defensively with 11 digs apiece. Diaz also had a trio of service aces.

During the third set, Head Coach Chris Duarte-McDermott opted to shuffle his team's lineup to give the visitors a different look. The changes paid off, as the Poets set an aggressive early tone early on in the frame, jumping out to a 14-10 lead at the first timeout. The lead would hold thanks to some key plays from sophomores Xenia Villagomez (Corona, Calif. / Santiago) and Amber Johnson (Walnut, Calif. / Walnut), and the home team would go on to parlay its success into an even higher level of play in the fourth set. Whittier even saved its biggest lead of the set until the very end, when they capped off the frame with a Villagomez kill from junior setter Della Trimble (Saratoga, Calif. / West Valley College). Trimble would go on to lead the Poets with 23 assists, making Friday the fourth consecutive game the junior transfer has had at least 20.

The deciding set saw both teams go tit-for-tat all the way up until each side had accrued seven points. From there, the Sagehens took on a slight advantage, but the Poets hung around, keeping the game within striking distance up until 11-10 when the visitors turned on the jets and came away with the win in a five-set thriller. While the defeat brings an end to the Poets' five-game winning streak, the come-from-behind effort still arms them with plenty of momentum to take into the stretch run of the 2021 season.

Duarte-McDermott and the Poets will have some extra recovery time with Saturday off. They will return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 19 when they travel to the University of La Verne for a 7 p.m. game.

Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), Facebook, YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!