Claremont, Calif. (Oct. 11, 2022)- Whittier traveled to Claremont Tuesday evening to face Pomona-Pitzer, falling in straight sets. Earlier in the season, the Sagehens beat the Poets at home in a competitive five-setter, which included a marathon fourth set.

The two teams picked up right where they left off in the last match going back and forth on the scoreboard. The score was tied 7-7, and both teams came out swinging. The Sagehens then began to go on a little run and took the score to 11-7. Whittier then came back out from a timeout and was able to go on their own run to pull the score to within one, 12-11. This would be as close as the Poets came as the Sagehens dominated the second half of the set to win 25-14.

The second opened up with much of the same as the first set, a lot of lead changes. The Hens then went on a small run to take a 14-7 run. This forced another Whittier timeout. As they came out of the timeout, the Poets could not get on the same page and eventually lost 25-15. 

As the third started Whittier began with more energy and got out to a 4-2 lead. Then a series of attack errors gave the Sagehens a 8-5 lead. This game was much closer for the Poets and they were wanting to fight. Down 23-16, they would go on a small run to bring the score to 23-20; however, Pomona would finish it out and beat Whittier 25-20. They would be the Poets in 3 sets. 

The Poets struggled to communicate in tonight's match and found themselves giving up a lot of kills to the opponents. Freshman Maia Cicero had another good game providing 7 kills and a .429 kill percentage. 

Coming out of this game 4-5, this is the first time the Poets have been under .500 in conference play since starting the season 0-1. Whittier will stay on the road for its next game this Saturday Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. against the the Occidental Tigers. The Poets beat the Tigers 3-1 in their first match and will be eager to get a win under their belt after dropping two straight conference games. 

Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com 

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