WHITTIER, Calif. – The Poets extended their winning streak to seven matches in a five-set thriller against the William Paterson Pioneers on Friday night, winning 3-2. After dropping the opening set, Whittier bounced back to claim the next two. William Paterson took the fourth, but the Poets prevailed in the decisive fifth frame.
Lola Padilla recorded Whittier's first kill, but the Pioneers gained an early advantage, moving ahead 7-4.
The Poets stayed within striking distance behind a pair of kills from
Madison McPherson, cutting the deficit to 8-7.
Trailing 13-9, Whittier put together three consecutive points, including a kill from
Nicole McManus, to make it 13-12.
William Paterson responded with a 7-2 stretch to extend its lead to 20-14. Whittier rallied behind a block from
Mia D'Amato and Padilla, narrowing the margin to 22-18.
The teams continued to battle late in the opening set, but the Pioneers came out on top, 25-20.
Whittier started the second set strong, scoring the first three points behind a D'Amato kill and service ace. William Paterson eventually evened the score at 9-9.
Five unanswered points, including two blocks from
Morgan Kinser and a kill from McPherson, established a 14-9 advantage for the Poets.
Kinser continued to make an impact offensively, recording two more kills as Whittier increased its lead to 17-12.
With the score at 18-15, Whittier claimed five of the next six points. D'Amato and Padilla supplied kills during the stretch, giving the Poets a commanding 23-16 cushion. Another kill from Padilla and an error by the Pioneers allowed Whittier to take the second set, 25-18.
Consecutive kills helped William Paterson build an 11-6 lead early in the third set.
Charlotte McCully, Kinser and McPherson fueled Whittier's comeback. McCully delivered a kill to even the score at 14-14, but the Pioneers regained control and moved ahead 18-15.
Kayla Scott's service ace helped spark a crucial seven-point run, along with three kills from Padilla. The Poets turned an 18-16 deficit into a 23-18 advantage. D'Amato scored Whittier's final two points to secure the set and give the Poets a 2-1 match lead.
William Paterson opened the fourth set with six unanswered points, forcing Whittier to play from behind.
Jeslyn Crockett and McCully provided kills to get the Poets on the board, but the Pioneers maintained their momentum and widened the gap to 12-5.
Kinser and McCully combined for a block, while Padilla added a kill as Whittier attempted to chip away at the deficit.
Trailing 22-12, the Poets scored three straight points behind consecutive kills from Padilla and a William Paterson attack error. However, the Pioneers closed out the set 25-17 to force a decisive fifth frame.
After sitting out the first four sets, Whittier's kills leader, Malena Thé, stepped onto the floor for the first time. She made an immediate impact, recording kills to tie the score at 1-1 and 2-2 before adding another to give the Poets a 3-2 advantage.
William Paterson answered with a three-point run to move ahead 6-3.
Thé ignited Whittier's response with a kill and a service ace, trimming the deficit to 6-5. After the Pioneers went up 7-5, D'Amato, Thé and McCully each recorded a kill during a 4-0 stretch.
The Poets took the lead and never looked back, with Thé delivering the final point to secure the fifth set, 15-12, and complete the comeback victory.
Offensively, Padilla and D'Amato finished with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while D'Amato posted a .391 hitting percentage. McPherson contributed 18 assists, seven kills, a .286 hitting percentage and eight digs.
Alyssa Gonzalez tallied 16 digs defensively, while Kinser registered four blocks.
Thé's performance in the final set, featuring seven kills and a .357 hitting percentage, provided the spark Whittier needed to come out on top.
The Poets improved to 17-4 overall and remained undefeated in SCIAC play at 7-0. Whittier will return to conference action against the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas at the Graham Athletic Center on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 4 p.m. Catch all the action on
FloCollege.
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