The University of Redlands volleyball showed sparks of brilliance in a hard-fought match against in-region foe, UC Santa Cruz, on Saturday afternoon in Currier Gym. Despite falling in straight sets by scores of 17-25, 20-25, 23-25, the Bulldogs put together quality rallies throughout the match to consistently remain in the hunt for the win.
After a slow start, the Maroon and Gray bounced back to even the score at seven apiece, with freshman outside hitter Kaylee Burdick (Sun Valley, CA) crushing one of her five kills for the day.
The teams traded points throughout the next few exchanges, with senior middle blocker Marisa Gile's (Yucaipa, CA) kill making it 15-all.
However, the Santa Cruz offense found its rhythm to unleash four points in five rallies, providing the difference in the first set.
Despite a change in the Bulldogs' line-up, the second set felt familiar to the Currier crowd, as a slow start ignited a comeback to force a 10-10 tie. Senior middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA) and freshman outside hitter Emma Böttger (Orange, CA) put up a wall of a block to cap off the Bulldogs' resurgence.
The back-and-forth action continued, with neither team creating much of an advantage.
With the score tied at 18, the Banana Slugs took advantage of a Redlands miscue before blasting off a pair of aces for the 21-18 lead. Although the Bulldogs held off one set point, UCSC's Kallan Bedard came up with the final kill for the visitors' two-set lead.
Redlands jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set, as big plays at the net and tough serving kept the visitors off-balanced. Junior right-side hitter Stephanie Dustin (San Marino, CA) knocked down one of her five kills for the day while also joining forces with Martin for a timely block. Sophomore outside hitter Kailee McCoy's (Chandler, AZ) serve was unreturnable, giving the Bulldogs great momentum to start the set.
However, the Banana Slugs inched their way back into it, evening the score at 14 off of a kill by Sierra Yuen.
After the teams traded punches, UCSC found hardwood on three-consecutive plays, leading to match point. Burdick stepped up for the Maroon and Gray, fending off the visitors with a kill and an ace in successive plays.
But it was not enough, as the Banana Slugs answered with the deciding point on a Kellie Graves kill to seal the three-set victory.
Martin led the Bulldogs with an 11-kill performance at a .474 clip. She also contributed one solo block and four assists in a fine front-row showing.
Junior setter Ellie McLeod (Redlands, CA) offered 16 assists during her time on the court.
Sophomore libero Abby Hickman (Phoenix, AZ) and sophomore defensive specialist Madison Brazeel (Yuma, AZ) patrolled the back row with 13 and 11 digs, respectively.
Redlands (5-15) returns to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Tuesday, October 20, when it travels to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with the Sagehens.
