POMONA, Calif. (September 1, 2023)- The Whittier College Women's Volleyball team opened up athletic play for the Poets in the 2023-2024 academic year. The girls are taking part in the Pacific Coast Classic and would finish 1-1 through day one. In the first game against St.John Fisher, the women came out and took down the Cardinals 3-1 sets. After a great first match, the Poets could not quite carry that momentum over to the second game and dropped it to University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. 

Game 1:

Whittier came out ready to fight from the start. The Poets and Cardinals traded shots back and forth for the first half of set 1, but then the girls turned up the intensity. With the score in their favor 12-9, Briana Rodriguez and the Poets went on a run. A series of kills and aces lead to a 20-9 lead for Whittier. The girls wrapped this game up a few points later, with the final score being 25-15.

The women were not able to hold the same choke hold over St. John in the second set. The Cardinals opened up the second set with a different energy, but the Poets were not backing down. Trailing 10-2, Whittier had to fight to get back in the set. They were not able to quite catch the Cardinals though as St. John took the set 25-21. 

As the third set began, both teams wanted to come out and take the 2-1 advantage. Each time one team would score the other would follow with a point of their own. However, with the score tied at 18 Whittier finally broke through the defense and went on a nice run. They dominated the last few possessions and would win this set 25-19. 

The final set was very similar to the third with the two teams trading off points and then Whittier once again going on a big run to end the match. The great team play in this fourth set eventually led to the Poets winning 25-19 again and taking the match 3-1. 

A lot of different girls contributed to the great team win by the Poets. Transfer Riley DeGroot really showed up though and stole the show. The junior had an outstanding 18 kills, 16 digs, and 2 service aces in her first action in a Poet uniform. There was contribution throughout the court for Whittier with Jordan Heard pacing the team with 18 assists andBrenna Kusleika dominating the defensive side with 6 blocks. The first win of the season was in the books for the Poets; they would have 1 more chance to go undefeated on the day against University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. 

Game 2:

The second game was not as successful for the Lady Poets against a tough Blugolds team. The first set was a very competitive one as neither team was able to gain a big advantage over the other. Eventually though UWEC was able to steal the second set 25-23. 

Unfortunately, Whittier was not able to get back on track in the next sets and would lose both the second and third as well. The final of the second was 25-16, while the third was 25-14. 

After a great first game and then a shaky second, the Poets would need to pull everything together to beat a Nebraskian team. They will take on Nebraska Wesleyan tomorrow (September 2nd) in a 3:15 game. This game will take place at CMS, as Whittier continues play in the Pacific Coast Classic.
 

Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

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