The University of Redlands volleyball team took on the Occidental College Tigers on Tuesday evening in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) ballad in Eagle Rock. With impressive rallies and multiple stretches of offensive dominance, the Bulldogs defeated the Tigers in five sets by scores of 18-25, 25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 15-9.
Amidst the crazy battle, the Bulldogs began the contest with an opening-set loss. Despite the slow start, they charged back in the second set with an early 9-4 advantage. Junior right-side hitter Kimberly Nevarez (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) initiated a five-point run by notching a kill. Junior middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA) found the hardwood for a kill shortly after, while senior libero Courtney Johnson (Dana Point, CA) recorded two service aces during this spurt.
Occidental went on to tie the score at 9-9, but the Bulldogs remained poised and eventually won the second set by a tally of 25-18. The Maroon and Gray was aided by strong play from the dynamic duo of junior outside hitter Marisa Gile (Yucaipa, CA) and Martin.
During the hard-fought third set, there were seven lead-changes in the early stages, with the final one coming at 15-15. From here, the Bulldogs began to pull away with an aggressive offense and relentless defense, culminating in a 10-3 run to close it out. Freshman middle blocker Kiersten Langerud (Williamsburg, VA) came out swinging, as she tallied three kills in the set for the Maroon and Gray.
The fourth set brought struggles for the Bulldogs, as Occidental garnered the majority of its points off of Redlands' errors. Despite their early blunders, the Bulldogs looked to erase a 14-23 deficit with an 8-2 surge at the conclusion of the frame, but it was not enough, sending the match to the fifth and deciding set.
In the final stanza, the Bulldogs charged out to a 6-2 advantage. Sophomore right-side hitter Addison Fonseca (Santa Cruz, CA) produced two kills right off the bat, while Martin notched yet another kill for the Maroon and Gray.
However, the Tigers battled back to cut their early deficit to one point. Once again, the Bulldogs formulated a late-set rally, stringing together five unanswered points to take. Freshman outside hitter Kailee McCoy (Chandler, AZ) came alive by notching three kills in the 5-0 rally, while the duo of Langerud and sophomore setter Ellie McLeod (Redlands, CA) registered a block to seal the deal on the exciting victory.
Martin impressed at the net by uncorking a match-high 19 kills. Langerud was just as effective with 11 kills, while Gile followed suit with 10 kills.
McLeod led all players with 48 assists, bringing her season total up to 371. Furthermore, she recorded 20 digs and one block.
Johnson worked the back row brilliantly by recording 22 digs. Freshman defensive specialists Madison Brazeel (Yuma, AZ) and Abigail Hickman (Phoenix, AZ) shined for the Bulldogs as well, recording ten digs apiece.
Redlands (3-18, 3-12 SCIAC) returns home on Friday, October 31, to take on the No. 18 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Athenas at 4 p.m. during Senior Day.