WHITTIER, Calif. (Nov. 3, 2023) – The Whittier College volleyball team's systematic takeover of The SCIAC continued on Friday night behind yet another exceptional performance from sophomore outside hitter
Sofia Zazueta (La Mirada, Calif. / Orange Lutheran). The Poets defeated Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, 3-0, to, for the moment, move ahead of the Sagehens in the conference standings while extending their unbeaten set streak to 18.
Prior to the game, five Whittier players were recognized for Senior Night: defensive specialists
Briana Rodriguez (La Puente, Calif. / Bishop Amat) and
Brooke Sasaki (La Palma, Calif. / John F. Kennedy), opposite side hitter
Amber Johnson (Walnut, Calif. / Walnut), setter
Jordan Heard (San Dimas, Calif. / San Dimas), and middle blocker
Xenia Villagomez (Corona, Calif. / Santiago). All five players factored into the winning outcome for the Poets, and helped lift the team following a sluggish start to the opening set. The Poets then proceeded to go on a 7-1 run just before the midway point of the set, keyed by strong service runs from both Heard and Zazueta. The fast rising sophomore notched three of her 12 kills during this stretch, which saw the Poets take command of things with a 13-8 lead. From there, the Poets held to form, and showed they were perfectly capable of getting the jump on yet another SCIAC Postseason Tournament contender, taking the opening frame 25-20.
The Poets' offensive weapons played a strong game throughout the duration of Friday's match, taking the Sagehens' star middle blocker almost entirely out of the equation. While very little of the match would be decided at the net, junior
Analise Kusleika (Upland, Calif. / Claremont) and freshman
Mia D'Amato (Bakersfield, Calif. / Garces) managed to combine on two huge blocks that helped turn the tide in Whittier's favor in both the second and third frames.
Reigning SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Week Brenna Kusleika (Upland, Calif. / Claremont), meanwhile, had a similar moment in the opening set that helped quell any hopes of a Sagehens run early.
Whittier held to form in the second stanza, but once again had to overcome a strong start from the Sagehens in order to put a stamp on the set themselves. Junior setter
Morgan Lin (Glendora, Calif. / Glendora) managed to win three consecutive points on her serve to will the Poets back into contention, but from there, Whittier won by simply chipping away at the opponent. Late kills from Villagomez, Zazueta, and the younger Kusleika helped give Whittier an uneasy 2-0 edge heading into what would be the final frame. The Poets came out like a team possessed in the third set, heeding the advice Head Coach
Chris Duarte-McDermott gave between sets two and three of the
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps game last weekend. The Poets played like they had one chance to beat the Sagehens once and for all, and jumped out to an 11-3 lead thanks to service runs from juniors
Riley DeGroot (Ontario, Calif. / Mt. San Antonio College) and
Nadine Oronoz (Whittier, Calif. / Rio Hondo College). However, the game Sagehens were far from finished, and ripped off a huge run of their own to put the pressure back on the home team.
Emphatic kills from the older Kusleika sister and Villagomez, however, helped give a slight advantage back to the Poets. It was during this set that Villagomez earned the 500th kill of her impressive three-year career, and it couldn't have come at a better time as the Poets found themselves in peril. As close as things got, however, Whittier never relinquished its lead, and proceeded to win seven of the final nine points to finish the match. Several players came up big in this spot, including DeGroot, who bridged a service error from the Sagehens with a service ace of her own that attacking partner Zazueta followed up with a kill of her own to increase the deficit. One final kill from the older Kusleika sister, Analise, ultimately gave the Poets their sixth-consecutive win.
The Poets overcame nine service errors to pick up the win thanks to exceptional work from its outside and opposite side hitters. Whittier posted another exceptional team hitting percentage of .308, with DeGroot leading the way on the outside with a .333 percentage. Zazueta was not far behind with a .313 percentage herself, while Villagomez hit the .333 benchmark on just 12 attempts, and D'Amato .429 on just 14 attempts. As long as the Poets can maintain this level of offensive efficiency, they will be a tough team to stop in the upcoming SCIAC Postseason Tournament.
Duarte-McDermott and the Poets will now head to the University of La Verne for the regular season finale, where the Leopards will need to stop the SCIAC's hottest team if they want to secure a semifinal home game. However, a 3-0 or 3-1 victory for the Poets will instead position them as the tournament's second seed and ensure a SCIAC Postseason Tournament home game when things ramp up next Thursday.
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