WHITTIER, Calif. – Whittier College volleyball wrapped up a two-match day on Saturday, taking on the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens in SCIAC play before facing the Vassar College Brewers. During the second match, the Poets celebrated Senior Night, honoring
Hailey Church,
Isabel Wold,
Mia Rogers,
Mia Palmer,
Chianti Raddavero and
Mia D'Amato.
The Poets opened the day with a hard-fought five-set loss to the Sagehens (24-26, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 13-15) before bouncing back with a dominant 3-0 sweep of Vassar (25-15, 25-15, 25-9). Whittier finished the day 1-1.
Game 1: Pomona-Pitzer 3, Whittier 2
Pomona-Pitzer jumped ahead 8-4 in the opening set, but Whittier battled back behind kills from Malena Thé and Rogers, along with a service ace from
Alyssa Gonzalez. The Poets continued to fight late, but the Sagehens held on for a narrow 26-24 victory.
The Sagehens built another early advantage in the second set, leading 12-8 before Whittier began chipping away at the deficit.
Madison McPherson and D'Amato helped fuel the comeback, and the Poets finished strong to even the match at one set apiece.
In the third set, both teams traded points before Pomona-Pitzer created separation with a four-point stretch to take an 11-7 lead. D'Amato and Thé helped Whittier stay within striking distance, but the Sagehens narrowly claimed the set 25-23.
After a back-and-forth start to the fourth, the Poets put together a run to overcome an 11-8 deficit, with Raddavero, Thé and Rogers contributing key kills. Whittier maintained its advantage down the stretch, and Thé delivered the final point to force a decisive fifth set.
Pomona-Pitzer opened the final frame with four unanswered points, but Whittier stormed back with a seven-point run to take an 11-8 lead, highlighted by contributions from
Morgan Kinser. The Sagehens responded late and edged the Poets 15-13 to secure the five-set victory.
Game 2: Whittier 3, Vassar 0
Whittier came out firing, building a 10-4 advantage behind multiple kills from Thé and a service ace from McPherson. D'Amato made her presence felt at the net as the Poets extended their cushion to 17-7. Church added an ace, while D'Amato combined with her teammates for several key blocks. Whittier controlled the remainder of the opening set, taking it 25-15.
With the score tied at 4-4 in the second, McPherson sparked a four-point run that included two service aces and a kill from Thé. Whittier later rattled off six consecutive points behind the serving of Gonzalez, stretching its lead to 16-6. D'Amato and Rogers each recorded kills during the stretch. The Poets continued to apply offensive pressure, preventing Vassar from mounting a comeback and securing another 25-15 victory.
Whittier jumped ahead 9-4 in the final set behind kills from Rogers and D'Amato, along with a Gonzalez service ace. Church then served during an eight-point run that pushed the advantage to 18-6. McPherson recorded multiple kills during the stretch, while
Lola Padilla and D'Amato also contributed offensively. The Poets never allowed Vassar to get back into contention, closing out the match with a commanding 25-9 victory to complete the sweep.
Following the 1-1 day, Whittier now sits at 19-6 overall and remains atop the SCIAC standings ahead of Cal Lutheran. Both teams hold 8-2 conference records, but the Poets own the tiebreaker.
Whittier returns to action on Tuesday, Oct. 27, when the Poets host the Azusa Pacific Cougars in a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. Catch all the action on
FloCollege.
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