WHITTIER, Calif. – In Whittier's second Saturday match of the day, the Poets returned to SCIAC action to take on the Caltech Beavers on their home court. The Purple and Gold rolled past the Beavers, 3-0, winning each set by 11 or more points. The set scores were 25-14, 25-11 and 25-10.
Whittier turned an early 2-1 first-set lead into a 7-1 advantage behind two kills each from Mia D'Amato and Charlotte McCully. D'Amato also delivered back-to-back aces to extend the Poets' advantage to 10-2.
Caltech cut the deficit to 10-5, but Whittier answered with kills from Malena Thé and Nicole McManus to stretch the margin to 15-6.
The Poets remained comfortably in front the rest of the way. Morgan Kinser made it 23-12 with a kill before McManus recorded the set-winning kill, giving Whittier a 25-14 victory and a 1-0 match lead.
After dropping the opening point of the second set, the Poets answered with four straight, fueled by two kills from Thé, along with a D'Amato kill and service ace, to move in front 4-1.
With Caltech staying within reach at 9-8, Whittier quickly created separation. D'Amato and Thé combined for four kills as the Poets built their advantage to 13-8.
Jeslyn Crockett took over from the service line, helping Whittier rattle off 10 consecutive points to turn a narrow edge into a commanding 19-8 lead. She collected two aces during the run, while D'Amato contributed two kills and teamed up with McCully for a block.
With the set firmly in hand, Thé and Kinser helped push the score to 23-10 before Ferlyn Alvarenga delivered the final kill, sealing a 25-11 win and putting the Poets ahead 2-0 in the match.
McCully and Crockett set the tone immediately in the third set, helping Whittier jump out to a 7-2 advantage.
With the Poets ahead 9-5, Thé and Kinser sparked a four-point burst. Thé supplied three kills during the stretch, giving Whittier a 13-5 cushion. McManus and Crockett kept the pressure on with kills before McManus and Kinser combined for a block. Alyssa Gonzalez followed with an ace to make it 19-8.
Whittier surrendered just one point during a 5-1 closing stretch. Ava Glonek recorded a late kill, and Mia Palmer put away match point to secure the set, 25-10, and complete the sweep.
On the attack, Thé totaled 13 kills on a .464 hitting percentage, while McCully followed with nine kills of her own and hit .389.
Defensively, Gonzalez notched 11 digs, while Crockett had 10. Kinser and McManus built a wall at the net with four and three block assists, respectively.
Whittier improved to 12-4 overall and a perfect 3-0 against SCIAC opponents. The Poets will travel to Redlands on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to take on the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Catch all the action on FloCollege.
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