Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. (Oct. 9, 2021) – The Whittier College volleyball team, behind standout performances from junior Della Trimble (Saratoga, Calif. / West Valley College) and senior Katelyn Popoff (Hacienda Heights, Calif. / Sonora), put a bow on an incredible week of volleyball with a dominant 3-0 victory of Occidental College. Now riding a three-game winning streak dating back to this past Tuesday, the Poets have also put together a nine-set winning streak.

Whittier had its most efficient game of the season, and the placement and accuracy from its junior setter played an important role in the numbers. Trimble finished the match with 34 assists, her highest total in more than a month. The junior transfer also had a successful dump midway through the second set that helped force a timeout out of the Tigers and set the Poets on course to increase their lead to two sets. She also added one service ace, two assisted blocks, and six digs.

"Della is competitive and works hard," Head Coach Chris Duarte-McDermott said. "She's reliable and has brought collegiate experience to our team as a transfer which has been so valuable."

Trimble's strong play led to another sterling performance out of senior Popoff, who had her highest amount of kills since a Sept. 28 meeting with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. The senior was also as efficient as she has been all season, hitting an incredible .400 while posting a 7:1 kills-errors ratio. Defensively, Popoff was every bit as valuable to the home team thanks to a team-leading 16 digs. The senior even got involved at the net, picking up a key solo block in the third set to trigger another timeout out of the Tigers.

After a competitive first set, the Poets got stronger with each passing point, and their 25-11 third set triumph represents their largest margin of victory in a single set this season. Senior Franki Piloto (Ontario, Calif. / Pomona Catholic), who was particularly strong early on finished with eight kills while sophomore Xenia Villagomez (Corona, Calif. / Santiago) came on strong in the middle of the match with half of her kills occurring in the second frame. Meanwhile, freshman Analise Kusleika (Upland, Calif. / Claremont) had six kills on just 13 total attacks and junior Kaitlin Bullock (Rocklin, Calif. / Humboldt State) had five. Ultimately, the Poets had nearly three kills for every committed error and the 41 total kills are a new match-high for three-setters in 2021. By the third set, the Poets had the match firmly in hand, with Oxy having exhausted both of its timeouts by 13-6. The Poets went on to win 12 of the final 17 points to notch the victory, continuing the team's most dominant stretch of the season. Next up for the Purple & Gold are two of the SCIAC's top three teams, but Duarte-McDermott and the process-oriented Poets will be up to the task.

"We have just been trying to focus on us and getting better each day," Duarte-McDermott said. "We knew we could have a big week if we play to the level we know we're capable of. Since we've seen both teams before, we know we can improve in the areas we struggled at and really hone in on what our strengths are. If we can do that, we'll continue to be competitive and continue to play good volleyball."

Duarte-McDermott and the Poets will look to make it four-straight conference victories when they travel to Chapman University on Tuesday, Oct. 12 in a rematch of an earlier meeting where the Poets beat the Panthers 3-1. Since that meeting, the Panthers have won five of their last six games, setting the stage for a meeting between two of the SCIAC's hottest teams.

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