WHITTIER, Calif. (Sept. 30, 2025) – Sophomore outside hitter
Malena Thé (Chino Hills, Calif. / Chino Hills / Westmont College) of the Whittier College women's volleyball team brought balance to the Poets' attack on Tuesday night, helping her team to a straight sets victory over Occidental College to make it consecutive SCIAC victories.
It wasn't all smooth sailing -- the Tigers made life hard on the Poets in the second set, at one point leading 17-13. However, thanks to the likes of Thé freshman
Lola Padilla (Fontana, Calif. / St. Lucy's) and sophomore
Jesslyn Crockett (Las Vegas, Nev. / Centennial) (who came off the bench to immediately impact the game), the Poets were able to steady the ship and win six of the final eight points to crush the Tigers' momentum before they could truly realize it. A five-point run on the serve of junior setter
Hailey Church (La Habra, Calif. / La Habra) ultimately sealed the deal, with Thé contributing two of her 11 kills over this stretch.
Crockett entered the match midway through the second set and further shined a light on the Poets' depth from the outside. The sophomore finished the match with five kills in limited action to the tune of a .300 hitting percentage -- staking her case for more playing time in a crowded, talented room of Whittier outside hitters. Another key for the Poets, who went on to dominate the third set, 25-12, was their serve. Church led with three service aces, but collectively, the Poets finished the match with eight compared to just one service error whereas the Tigers committed eight service errors themselves.
The Poets were quiet at the net with the majority of the match being decided on the outside as well as on each team's serve. Senior libero
Jessica Ferreira (Whittier, Calif. / La Serna / Cypress College) played the entire match at libero and keyed the Poets' defense with 19 digs while Thé cracked 10 digs for the eighth time this season, resulting in her seventh double-double with kills and digs. The sophomore has now reached 10 kills in all but two matches.
Head Coach Chris Duarte-McDermott and the Poets have a busy weekend ahead of them. They will hit the road on Friday, Oct. 3 to play Chapman University, then head north to take on a familiar foe in the University of California, Santa Cruz for a pair of games on Saturday, Oct. 4.
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