The University of Redlands volleyball team traveled to Eagle Rock on Tuesday evening to take on the Occidental College Tigers in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match. Despite dominating the net with 12 blocks on the night, the Bulldogs came up short in four sets by scores of 15-25, 18-25, 27-25, 19-25.
Slow starts hindered the Maroon and Gray in the opening two sets, allowing the home team to pull away for a two-set lead.
Nonetheless, the Bulldogs regrouped by coming out on fire to start the third set with a 3-1 lead. Sophomore outside hitter Kailee McCoy (Chandler, AZ) and senior middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA) provided early kills for Redlands.
However, the Tigers answered with a 9-1 run to earn a 10-4 advantage and force Redlands to overcome a six-point deficit. Sophomore outside hitter Emma Böttger (Orange, CA) led the charge by unleashing three kills in five rallies to pull the Bulldogs within one.
After a McCoy kill evened the count at 13 apiece, the teams traded punches to keep things close with six more tie scores.
The Bulldog eventually nabbed this one 27-25 to push Occidental to a fourth set.
A Tiger hot streak at the midway point of the subsequent frame proved to be the difference in the outcome.
Overall, Böttger impressed in her time on the floor, racking up 15 kills with only one error for a hitting percentage of .500. McCoy added 11 kills for the Bulldogs.
Senior middle blocker Marisa Gile (Yucaipa, CA) stepped into the game to make a big difference at the net, accumulating three solo blocks and five block assists for an undeniable presence. Böttger also contributed with big defensive plays at the net, earning four block assists.
From the back row, sophomore libero Abby Hickman (Phoenix, AZ) notched 21 digs.
Senior setter Lauren Ellingwood (Kirkland, WA) facilitated the offense with 38 assists, to go along with 10 digs.
Redlands (5-13, 1-9 SCIAC) takes a break from conference action when it hosts La Sierra University on Wednesday, October 14, in Currier Gym at 7:30 p.m.