THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (Sept. 27, 2024) – Senior libero
Nadine Oronoz (Whittier, Calif. / Southland Christian / Rio Hondo College) of the Whittier College women's volleyball team picked up 14 digs in the Poets' SCIAC debut on the road Friday night against California Lutheran University.
The Regals, who split their two games with the Poets last year, played an excellent offensive first set with a hitting just south of .400. That frame, coincidentally, also happened to be the Poets' best offensive set, but the Purple & Gold came up short by five points despite five kills from
Xenia Villagomez (Corona, Calif. / Santiago) and four from both junior
Sophia Zazueta (La Mirada, Calif. / Orange Lutheran) and sophomore
Mia D'Amato (Bakersfield, Calif. / Garces). All five of Villagomez' kills came here, while Zazueta led the Poets with 10 for the three-set match.
The Poets otherwise played a competitive match with the Regals, and one that could be winnable when the two teams rematch in Whittier later this fall. The Poets put up a match-high 21 points in a third set that included a kill from libero Oronoz. The Poets will rematch the Regals on Nov. 8 in the final home game of the season in what could be a huge match building to the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. Whittier could see greater success if the team's service aces can regress back to the mean (they entered Friday's match averaging 6.9 per match).
Head Coach
Chris Duarte-McDermott and the Poets will look for their first SCIAC win of the season when they take on a top-10 program in the University of La Verne at 7 p.m. on Dave Jacobs Court.
Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!
