The University of Redlands volleyball team took on a pair of formidable Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opponents this weekend, facing off against Whittier College in Friday's road-match before hosting No. 2 Cal Lutheran University on Saturday night.  Against the Poets, the Bulldogs stretched the match to five sets for the first time this season but came up short in heartbreaking fashion, suffering a 13-25, 26-24, 25-22, 16-25, 13-15.  Back in Currier Gym, the Maroon and Gray came up against a talented Regal squad that handed Redlands a straight-set loss by scores of 16-25, 10-25, 15-25.

While utilizing 15 players, the Bulldogs battled until the very end of the match against Whittier but struggled to seal the deal in a tight fifth set.  After dropping the opening stanza, the Bulldogs came storming back to snag the second in extended fashion.  With the score knotted at 24, Redlands gained back-to-back kills from junior middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA) and junior outside hitter Marisa Gile (Yucaipa, CA).  The momentum carried the Bulldogs into the third set, as the squad grabbed a 3-2 lead on another Martin put-away and never looked back.  The Maroon and Gray built that advantage to as many as four points before securing the 25-22 victory on consecutive kills by Gile.  After the Poets gained the fourth-set triumph, they maintained the edge through the fifth and deciding set by breaking an eight-all tie with a four-point run.

Overall, Gile led the match with 21 kills, which came off of 48 swings for a hitting percentage of .396.  Martin backed her up with 12 kills, while freshman middle blocker Kiersten Langerud (Williamsburg, VA) knocked down nine at a clip of .381.

Defensively, senior libero Courtney Johnson (Dana Point, CA) supplied 28 digs.  Junior setter Lauren Ellingwood (Kirkland, WA) distributed 42 assists on offense.

Against Cal Lutheran, the Bulldogs struggled to minimize their errors while facing an effective attack from the other side of the net.  The Regals cruised through a three-set sweep while utilizing 16 players, with Sarah Pappas leading the offense with 13 kills on 16 attempts for a hitting percentage of .812.

Martin led the Maroon and Gray with seven kills and freshman defensive specialist Madison Brazeel (Yuma, AZ) provided 10 digs.

Redlands (1-9, 1-4 SCIAC) heads to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Tuesday, Sept. 30, for a 7:30 p.m. match with the Sagehens.