AZUSA, Calif. – The 10-3 Poets went head-to-head against the 15-0 Azusa Pacific Cougars in a non-countable match on Tuesday night. Two of the best teams on the West Coast squared off as Whittier was edged out, 3-1. The contest featured a 29-27 nail-biter in the first set, and the next three sets all came down to the wire, with scores of 25-21, 26-24 and 25-22.
Madison McPherson paced the Poets offensively with 14 kills, followed by Malena Thé with 13. With 14 assists from McPherson and 19 digs recorded by Thé, both notched double-doubles. Alyssa Gonzalez continued her defensive dominance with 36 digs.
In the first set, both teams went back and forth, with neither able to create much separation. Whittier moved in front, 7-4, with consecutive kills from Nicole McManus and Thé.
The Poets held their advantage at 11-8 before the Cougars found some momentum and tied the set at 11-11.
The score was 17-13 as the Poets pushed back. Thé killed two more attempts during that run to put Whittier in the driver's seat. Azusa Pacific quickly found itself down by one at 17-16. Lola Padilla answered with a kill, but the Cougars then jumped out in front, 20-18, on a four-point run.
A block from Ava Glonek and Padilla kept the Poets within striking distance and knotted the score at 22-22.
With set point on the line, a service error from Azusa sent the set to extra points at 25-25. After kills from McManus and Mia D'Amato, Whittier took control and was one point away from taking the first set. The Cougars roared back and scored three points in a row to close out the set, 29-27, and take a 1-0 match advantage.
The following set also started tightly contested, with both sides trading points in a 6-6 standstill. A kill from D'Amato, followed by a combined block from her and McPherson, pushed the Poets in front, 8-6.
Whittier stretched the margin to three, 12-9, with kills from Thé and D'Amato before an ace from Allie Scribner. APU did not back down, tying the set at 12-12. Two more points from Morgan Kinser and Thé put Whittier back in front, 14-12.
Again, the Poets and Cougars went toe-to-toe, tied at 17-17. Padilla broke the tie, and McPherson added to the advantage as Whittier went up, 19-17.
A few points later, McPherson added three scores with two kills and a combined block with Thé. Whittier held a 23-20 advantage. Kinser delivered the final blow as the Poets took the set, 25-21.
Azusa jumped ahead, 8-5, in the third, but the Poets responded with a four-point run, highlighted by consecutive aces from Hailey Church and another McPherson kill that gave Whittier a 9-8 edge. The Poets did not stop there, adding three more points to increase their advantage to 12-9. The Cougars battled back to tie the score at 12-12.
The two sides traded points all the way to 18-18. Kinser and McPherson helped Whittier create some separation at 21-18. The Poets maintained their lead at 23-21. Three points later, Azusa moved in front, 24-23. A Padilla kill tied the set back up at 24-24 and sent it to extra points yet again. The Cougars went on to score the next two points and regained their match advantage, 2-1.
In the fourth and final set, Thé, D'Amato and McPherson each recorded kills to put Whittier up, 3-2.
Azusa created the first separation of the set, 8-5. The Poets held strong and tied the score at 10-10 after a McPherson kill.
As in the previous sets, this one also went back and forth as Azusa responded and moved ahead, 14-12. The Cougars then increased their lead to 18-14, and Whittier was down late in the set. The relentless Poets proceeded to go on a four-point run, including two kills from Mia Rogers, to tie the set at 18-18. Azusa answered with a run of its own, and Whittier found itself down, 21-18.
In a set of runs, the Poets answered yet again and surged in front, 22-21. With Whittier in control and trying to force a fifth set, the Cougars closed the match with four straight points as the Poets fell, 25-22.
Whittier is now 10-4 overall, but remains a perfect 2-0 in SCIAC play and at the top of the standings.
On Saturday, Oct. 3, the Poets will host a doubleheader, starting with the Chapman Panthers in a non-conference contest at 10 a.m. before taking on the Caltech Beavers in a SCIAC matchup at 4 p.m. Catch all the action on FloCollege.
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