LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Oct. 29, 2024) – Freshman outside hitter
Malena The (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills / Westmont College) helped the Whittier College volleyball team overcome a third-set setback to soundly defeat Occidental College, 3-1, on the road Tuesday night. The win gives the Poets a season sweep of the Tigers.
The, who has been in and out of the Poets' lineup as of late, made an impact with a team-best 12 kills as the Poets cruised to a 52-kill match. However, 17 of those kills came in a busy fourth set where, conversely, the visitors committed just two errors for a pristine 0.395 team hitting percentage. The was not the only Poet to step up, however, as sophomore
Brenna Kusleika (Upland, Calif. / Claremont), who has been finding her late-season form as of late, finished with 11 kills, while classmate
Mia D'Amato (Bakersfield, Calif. / Garces) had 10 kills to just two errors. D'Amato also notably had three service aces, tying for the team lead with senior libero
Nadine Oronoz (Whittier, Calif. / Southland Christian Rio Hondo College), and Tuesday's match now gives the sophomore nine-straight matches of two committed errors or fewer.
The Poets are also victors now in seven of the last eight games, and are displaying a team form reminiscent of their run to the 2023 SCIAC Postseason Tournament when they won six of the final seven contests.
Head Coach
Chris Duarte-McDermott and the Poets will next host Caltech on Friday's Senior Night. Depending on what happens around the the rest of the conference, Whittier will have an opportunity to clinch the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the second time in as many years.
Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!
