WHITTIER, Calif. (Oct. 22, 2024) – Powered by the performances of middle blockers
Mia D'Amato (Bakersfield, Calif. / Garces),
Xenia Villagomez (Corona, Calif. / Santiago) and
Analise Kusleika (Upland, Calif. / Claremont), the Whittier College women's volleyball team turned in arguably its best performance of the season in a 3-0 sweep of the University of Redlands away from home.
Whittier handled Redlands in a way they've handled few teams at this net this season. The Poets outblocked the Bulldogs 7-2, but did their best work in their offensive sets. Each of the three aforementioned players had a combined 27 kills to just two errors. Throw in junior
Kylie Ibbotson (Moorpark, Calif. / Ventura) who had five kills herself without committing an error, and the Poets can claim a 16:1 ratio among all four players.
Coming off a two-win Saturday, the Poets continued to play like one of the hottest teams in the SCIAC, and wasted no time at Redlands. They jumped out to a 10-4 lead punctuated by kills from D'Amato, D'Amato again, and senior
Riley DeGroot (Ontario, Calif. / Ontario Christian / Mt. San Antonio College), this week's SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Week. DeGroot led the Poets with 24 total attacks and added seven kills coming off a 26-kill weekend. Whittier's momentum continued, paced by its size and athleticism in the middle. While Redlands showed some tenacity in the middle of the frame, Whittier won 13 of the final 14 points, cleaning up on the serve of senior setter
Morgan Lin (Glendora, Calif. / Glendora). Lin had two of her team's seven service aces on back-to-back serves, and nearly served out the set herself.
The final two frames proved to be more of the same. Junior setter
Sophia Padilla (Fontana, Calif. / St. Lucy's) added 16 assists while freshman outside hitter
Malena The (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills / Westmont College), a frequent attacking leader for the Poets, carried the defensive burden with 14 digs. No stranger to big runs on Tuesday, Whittier added one more in the final set on the serve of senior libero
Nadine Oronoz (Whittier, Calif. / Southland Christian / Rio Hondo College), who won the Poets' final four points on her serve with all four points ending in Poet kills.
Head Coach
Chris Duarte-McDermott and the Poets will hit the road one more time when they travel to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Friday, Oct. 25 before returning home for the homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 26 against third-place Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.
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