The University of Redlands volleyball team traveled to Whittier for a pair of matches in a busy Friday afternoon, taking on the host Poets and Austin College (TX).  The Bulldogs battled well in both outings but fell to Whittier by scores of 22-25, 23-25, 21-25, before coming up short in four sets against Austin, 25-22, 22-25, 10-25, 25-23.

Against the Poets, freshman outside hitter Kaylee Burdick (Sun Valley, CA) paced the Bulldogs with 15 kills for a hitting percentage of .324.  She also added seven digs on defense.  Sophomore Kailee McCoy (Chandler, AZ) backed her with eight kills, while sophomore middle blocker Kiersten Langerud (Williamsburg, VA) offered five. 

Junior setter Ellie McLeod (Redlands, CA) and senior setter Lauren Ellingwood (Kirkland, WA) split time as the primary ball-distributors, tallying 10 and 19 assists, respectively.

Redlands put together its most effective offense of the match during the second set, firing off a hitting percentage of .364 on 15 kills.

In the second match of the day the Bulldogs rallied to take the opening set by using a refreshed, starting line-up that included two new faces in junior right-side hitter Stephanie Dustin (San Marino, CA) and junior outside hitter Addison Fonseca (Santa Cruz, CA).  The duo combined efforts for 13 kills in the four-setter.

Langerud was unstoppable from the middle, as she racked up 10 kills on 14 swings for a clip of .643.  Burdick led the team once again with 12 kills, while Ellingwood facilitated the offense with 39 assists.

Sophomore libero Abby Hickman (Phoenix, AZ) provided 10 digs, to go along with three service aces. 

Redlands (5-9, 1-5 SCIAC) returns home to Currier Gym for Saturday's 2 p.m. Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown against No. 6 Cal Lutheran University.