WHITTIER, Calif. (Sept. 27, 2022)- The Poets fell, 3-2, in a long, competitive conference match to the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens.

In the first set, the Poets came out flat and had some mistakes that cost them. They quickly found themselves trailing 17-10 and were never able to catch up, dropping the set 25-18. 

In the second, Whittier never trailed by more than four points but fell again, 25-22. 

The Poets trailed 2-0 to begin the set, but then stormed back for a 9-6 lead. The team was led by some massive hits and animated leadership from Analise Kuslika, who scored five points early with some vicious kills. The Sagehens then battled back to make the score 15-12 before the Poets took a timeout to talk it over. After the timeout, the Poets jumped out to a 20-14 lead, then finishing off tjhe set with off with a 5-0 run and 25-14 game win. 

At the start of the fourth set, the Poets and Sagehens took turns getting on the scoreboard, then Whittier went on another little run to take a 10-5 lead. The Sagehens then took a timeout trailing 12-6 before staging a small comeback to cut the deficit to two points at 14-12.  After trading blows, the score was 22-20 in favor of the Poets. The score was then 24-23 Poets before the Sagehens tied it at 24. Neither team would give up, and the Poets ultimately took the marathon set by a score of 30-28!

This match go the distance with a decisive fifth set. Whittier opened up a 2-0 lead before Pomona came back and tied it up. The two teams continued to battle and were knotted at 6-6. The Sagehens then took a 12-10 lead in the match after some communication errors by the Poets. Finally, with the score 14-13, the Sagehens secured the last point to win the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2. 

The Whittier women fought hard and showed great resilience to come back and tie it after falling behind 2 sets to 0.

"We started the match off slow with a lot of simple mistakes, but were able to find our footing in the 3rd," said head coach Chris Duarte-McDermott. "I'm proud of our fight ,and we just needed to strike a little sooner in the fifth deciding set". 

The Poets' two biggest contributors were Cheyanne Ybanez and Kusleika, who each provided double-digit points for Whittier. Ybanez led the team with 18 kills and 21 points, and Kusleika finished with 12 kills and 15 points. 

Whittier's record now stands at 2-2 in conference play. It's next match is at 6 p.m.gainst Occidental this Saturday, October 1, at home. 

Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com