CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Poets picked up their fourth sweep of the season on Saturday against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. Whittier won in straight sets, 25-19, 25-23 and 25-18.
The Purple and Gold displayed a balanced offensive and defensive effort throughout the match. Malena Thé posted another double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs, while
Mia Rogers added 10 kills on a .500 hitting percentage.
Lola Padilla and
Mia D'Amato followed in the kills category with seven apiece, and
Madison McPherson dictated the offense with 16 assists to go along with 14 digs.
Defensively,
Alyssa Gonzalez led the Poets with 24 digs while also contributing 11 assists and two service aces.
Morgan Kinser recorded three total blocks and added five kills.
After the opening set was tied at 3-3, the Poets went on a five-point run to establish an 8-3 advantage. Two kills from Kinser and another from Thé helped fuel the early surge.
Whittier continued to build momentum, highlighted by an ace from Gonzalez, stretching their advantage to 11-4.
Pomona-Pitzer gradually chipped away at the deficit, now trailing by five with the Poets still up 15-10.
Whittier erased any confidence the Sagehens had gained. Kills from Thé and Rogers helped maintain the Poets' lead, 18-12.
Padilla and McPherson extended Whittier's control to 24-18, and Thé's set-ending kill gave the Poets a 1-0 edge in the match.
Pomona-Pitzer jumped out to an early 8-4 advantage in the second set. The teams traded points before consecutive kills from Padilla helped Whittier cut the deficit to 11-10. The Sagehens then scored three straight points to take a 14-10 lead.
The Poets answered with six consecutive points, including two kills from D'Amato, to take their first lead of the set at 16-14. Pomona-Pitzer countered with a four-point run of its own to reclaim an 18-16 advantage.
The teams continued to battle down the stretch. With the score tied at 21, Thé delivered consecutive kills to put Whittier ahead 23-21.
After the Sagehens narrowed the margin to 24-23, Rogers delivered the set-winning kill to secure a 25-23 victory and put the Poets one set away from the sweep.
The Sagehens once again established an early advantage, building a 10-6 lead in the third set. Whittier responded with four unanswered points, including kills from Padilla,
Charlotte McCully and D'Amato, to even the score at 10-10.
With the set tied at 11, Padilla recorded a service ace to spark another scoring run. McCully added a kill as the Poets built a 14-11 cushion.
Pomona-Pitzer battled back to cut Whittier's advantage to 15-14, but the Poets responded with two consecutive points, including a solo block from Kinser, to extend their lead to 17-14.
Rogers then took control offensively, recording three consecutive kills to help Whittier build a commanding 21-15 advantage.
The Sagehens made one final push, narrowing the deficit to 21-18, but Rogers halted the run with another kill. Gonzalez followed with a service ace before Padilla delivered back-to-back kills to complete the 25-18 set victory and secure the sweep.
With the 3-0 victory, Whittier improved to 10-3 overall and remained undefeated in SCIAC play at 2-0.
Whittier will head to Azusa Pacific and take on the Cougars in a non-countable conference game on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m.
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