WHITTIER, Calif. (Oct. 28, 2023) – The Whittier College women's volleyball team picked up a win for the ages on Saturday, sweeping nationally-ranked No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in straight sets in front of a raucous crowd in the Graham Athletic Center.
Prior to Friday, Head Coach
Chris Duarte-McDermott had never beaten the Athenas. In fact, it's been 28 years since Whittier last beat CMS in volleyball. However, Duarte-McDermott is no stranger to beating top-10 teams, as his Poets did manage to beat then-No. 10 Trinity University at the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational back in 2017.
"It's an exciting feeling, but we have to stay grounded," Duarte-McDermott said. "We can't let the excitement of one overshadow the work that we have to put in to be ready to go next week. We're going to enjoy the heck out of tonight's win, don't get me wrong, but for me as a coach, I have to start getting my mind set on, 'what are we going to do next,' because, if anything, this win puts a target on our back."
Whittier was not the only team to beat CMS this week. The University of La Verne, another nationally-ranked team, beat the Athenas in five sets on Tuesday, but with a chance to take over sole possession of first-place on Saturday night, the Leopards stumbled, losing to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, and falling back into a tie with CMS. If anything, it should represent a cautionary tale for Whittier as they look towards the final week of the season.
The big win required substantial contributions from each of the 11 Poets that saw the floor on Saturday night. Freshman middle blocker
Brenna Kusleika (Upland, Calif. / Claremont) headlined the list of Whittier contributors, leading with an 11-kill game in just three sets of action. Kusleika opened the match on an absolute tear, notching seven kills with nary an error through the midway point of the second set. She finished the game with a sterling .444 percentage, easily the most significant performance of her career to date.
The Poets also relied on junior outside hitter
Riley DeGroot (Ontario, Calif. / Mt. San Antonio College) to make things happen on both the offensive and defensive end, finishing the match one kill shy of what would have been her 10th double-double of the season. Thanks to the early efforts of both players, the Athenas struggled to get out off the blocks, though they did hold brief leads in the first two sets the Poets were able to quickly erase.
By the end of the first frame, the Poets were able to turn things around on the Athenas, winning the last three points, with a service ace from junior setter
Morgan Lin (Glendora, Calif. / Glendora) serving as the exclamation point. The second set mirrored the first in some ways, but this time, Whittier managed to quietly create distance between itself and the visiting team. The Poets, at one point, led by as many as seven points at the 19-12 mark. While CMS managed to close the gap somewhat, Whittier opted to lean on the defensive abilities of sophomore outside hitter
Sofia Zazueta (La Mirada, Calif. / Orange Lutheran) and junior libero
Nadine Oronoz (Whittier, Calif. / Rio Hondo College), and as a result picked up the second set as a result of an unforced error from the Athenas.
This set the stage for a third set not short on suspense and excitement.
"Going into the third set, [I told our team] the good news is that we have three chances to beat them," Duarte-McDermott said. "The bad news is that we have three chances to beat them, so if we
act like we have three chances to beat them, we're gonna lose the match. We needed to act like this was the first set and that we had something prove."
The Poets managed to do just that. Rather than cede a three-point run like they did in each of the two victorious sets before it, Whittier instead jumped out to a 3-1 lead of their own, with back-to-back Kusleika kills giving the fans in attendence plenty of hope. Soon, the Poets began to believe and found increased opportunities at the net. Freshman opposite
Mia D'Amato accounted for four total blocks all on her own, combining on blocks with players such as
Analise Kusleika (Upland, Calif. / Claremont), her younger sister, Brenna, and senior
Xenia Villagomez (Corona, Calif. / Santiago). The Poets also managed to find some unorthodox offense along the way, with senior setter
Jordan Heard (San Dimas, Calif. / San Dimas) picking up a legitimate kill to keep the Athenas in check.
Nevertheless, a predictably close third set came down to the final points. After the Athenas turned back one Whittier match point, freshman
Megan Hester (La Verne, Calif. / Bonita) entered the game with the hopes of serving out the match. Unfazed, the freshman delivered a strong serve, particularly given the gravity of the situation, however one final attacking error from the Athenas' star setter ultimately sent the Graham Athletic Center into a frenzy as a new reality started to sink in; the Poets had just accomplished the improbable, and swept the No. 4 team in the nation on their home floor.
"It was hard to even talk, at first," Duarte-McDermott said. "It was like, 'that just happened.' In the moment, it felt more like an eye-contact moment more than anything, and once we got upstairs it was just more excitement. We really felt it. When we calmed down, we talked about how we're not done and have a lot more to do. We can enjoy this for the weekend, but as soon as Monday hits, this has to be in the rearview mirror. We can't get ahead of ourselves until we are 100 percent done with our season."
The historic win drops the Poets' magic number to one. All they now need in order to guarantee a place in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament is a win over any of their remaining three opponents, or a Cal Lutheran defeat. Even if the Regals happen to defeat No. 21 La Verne next week, the Poets would need to claim just three sets over their final three matches to claim the tiebreaker -- and that's provided they lose out. At this point, a trip to the postseason tournament seems like a near-inevitability, and regardless of where the Poets ultimately end up seeded, they can proceed with the confidence of having, thus far, taken one of their three possible opponents to five sets, while having outright beaten another in straights.
Duarte-McDermott and the Poets will now turn their attention to the University of Redlands. The Poets will pay the Bulldogs a visit on Halloween Night this Tuesday, as they look to clinch a SCIAC Postseason Tournament berth for the first time in eight years.
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