Box Score LA VERNE, Calif. (Oct. 19, 2021) – Monster outings from senior Katelyn Popoff (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / Sonora) and junior Della Trimble (Saratoga, Calif. / West Valley College) guided the Whittier College volleyball team to a come-from-behind victory at the University of La Verne on Tuesday night to even the season series.
The Poets needed to rely on Popoff more than ever, but the senior got the job done behind a season-high 74 total attacks that she turned into 23 kills, another personal best on the season. The 74 attempts were also 19 more than her previous high in a SCIAC match this season (55). The senior's big night, however, could not have been done without Trimble, who posted a season-high with 49 assists. The junior is in the midst of her strongest run of the season, having had at least 48 assists in two of the last three games. Additionally, both players provided a tremendous amount of defensive help to the visiting team, with Popoff (39) and Trimble (25) achieving season-high totals once more.
Despite the Poets and Leopards posting near-identical first-set attacking numbers (15:5 K:E ratio), it would be the Poets that would come away with the first set off of one of freshman Analise Kusleika (Upland, Calif. / Claremont)'s six kills on the match. However, the home team showed it had no plans to fade away and took a decisive second set, followed by a third set that bore similarities to the first with the Poets coming up on the short end of things despite posting the better attacking metrics.
A war of attrition would soon follow. Popoff posted eight of her side's 21 kills over the final two sets, and several other Poets stepped up in a big way to push the visitors over the finish line. Junior Kaitlin Bullock (Rocklin, Calif. / Humboldt State) registered kills on three out of four consecutive points early on in the fourth, accounting for half her kills on the match. Additionally, Kusleika had half her kills during this frame and finished the night with just one error to go with her six kills and five assisted blocks. Down the stretch the Poets began to win the war, coming up on the right side of several long points thanks to the defensive prowess of Popoff, Trimble, and seniors Julia Trujillo (Chino, Calif. / Univ. of La Verne) and Madisen Diaz (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / Bishop Amat), who combined for an additional 44 digs. With both teams in a dead heat for the majority of the final set, Whittier won the waning moments coming off a timely timeout from Head Coach Chris Duarte-McDermott at 15 points apiece. The Poets then proceeded to win the following two points, the first of which came on an impressive kill from Bullock that put enough pressure on the Leopards with their back against the wall to make one final mistake, allowing Whittier to leave La Verne with its sixth SCIAC victory of the season.
Duarte-McDermott and the Poets will be back at home on Friday, Oct. 22 when they host California Lutheran University (8-15, 6-6 SCIAC) at 7 p.m. in a match with SCIAC Postseason Tournament implications. A victory for the Poets would give them a one-game leg up on the Regals with another game in hand.
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