The University of Redlands volleyball team faced off against the visiting Poets of Whittier College on Tuesday night but suffered a straight-set loss to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) foes by scores of 13-25, 20-25, 16-25.

The team's best showing came in the second stanza, which saw plenty of long rallies, impressive digs, and back-and-forth action.  With junior outside hitter Marisa Gile (Yucaipa, CA) leading the charge, the Bulldogs fired off a solid hitting percentage of .267 during this set.  Offensively, junior middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA) and freshman middle blocker Kiersten Langerud (Williamsburg, VA) joined her on the attack, as the Bulldogs notched nearly half of their kills in this set alone.

Overall, the Bulldogs blocked well, amassing six total blocks, with Martin contributing three of them. 

In addition, Gile finished with nine kills to lead the team.  Sophomore setter Ellie McLeod (Redlands, CA) dished out 21 assists, while junior libero Karly Burningham (Sonoma, CA) provided 13 digs.

Whittier's Rebecca Slattery led the match with 17 kills, while Casie Lowden chipped in 10.

Redlands (2-16, 2-10 SCIAC) looks to play spoiler when it heads to Thousand Oaks on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with the No. 2 Cal Lutheran University Regals, who boast a nearly perfect record at 21-1.  Fans may follow along on CLU's live-streaming at http://www.clusports.com/video/.