CLAREMONT, Calif. (Nov. 10, 2023) – The Whittier College volleyball team's standout SCIAC season came to an end on Thursday night at the hands of top-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. The host Athenas are currently ranked eighth in the nation.
The Poets endured some early jitters against an experienced and weathered CMS team, but regained a similar form in the third set that landed them in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament to begin with. Additionally, several new faces got a chance to work into the rotation in a meaningful way. Whittier first began to tip the scales back in its direction on the serve of junior outside hitter
Riley DeGroot (Ontario, Calif. / Mt. San Antonio College) at 18-13. The junior went on to lead a four point run that saw the visitors nearly overtake the SCIAC preseason favorites. Over this stretch, the Poets let the game come to them, with the Athenas making several errors to rebuild the confidence of the visiting team.
As Whittier's confidence grew, so too did its momentum. Junior middle blocker
Analise Kusleika (Upland, Calif. / Claremont) picked up an important kill to half some late-set momentum from the Athenas, which would then be followed up on by a kill from Second Team All-SCIAC recipient
Xenia Villagomez (Corona, Calif. / Santiago). From there, the Poets pushed the Athenas to 23-24, but one last successful set up from the home team sealed the fate of both postseason tournament teams.
Head Coach
Chris Duarte-McDermott and the Poets can hold their head high knowing they had a stellar season, in fact, one of the best in Duarte-McDermott's decade-long career. Whittier out-performed its preseason SCIAC ranking of fifth, embarking on an 18-set unbeaten streak to secure a spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. The Poets also picked up a few key wins as far as national and regional rankings are concerned, and have maneuvered their way into sixth in the NCAA Region X rankings.
Even with Thursday's setback, the Poets' season might not be over. Duarte-McDermott and the Poets will await their fate in Monday morning's NCAA Division III National Tournament selection show, which will be available to stream on the homepage of the NCAA website at 10 a.m. Whittier did, after all, find its way into the tournament as an at-large team back in 2017, despite finishing on the outside-looking in of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament that season.
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