The University of Redlands volleyball team jumped back in the win column on Friday night by sweeping the Caltech Beavers in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match. After being pushed in the first set, the Bulldogs quickly adjusted and cruised to victory by scores of 25-17, 25-7, 25-12.
During the opening frame, the Maroon and Gray broke a 10-all tie with a 6-0 run, thanks in part to the strong net play of sophomore middle blocker Kiersten Langerud (Williamsburg, VA) and sophomore outside hitter Kailee McCoy (Chandler, AZ). From here the Bulldogs took care of business to maintain their lead for the opening-set triumph.
Redlands jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the second stanza and never looked back. Freshman outside hitter Emma Böttger (Orange, CA) stepped up with a kill and a pair of aces during the early scoring spree. The Bulldogs put together an efficient offense that fired off a clip of .381, which propelled them to the dominating victory for a two-set lead.
A tight start quickly evolved into a big momentum push by the Maroon and Gray, which turned a knotted score into a six-point lead at 11-5. Langerud offered two of her five service aces for the match during this stretch. Redlands continued to pull away and secured the three-set sweep with relative ease.
Overall, the Bulldogs utilized 14 players in the win. McCoy led the offense with 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .417. Böttger and freshman outside hitter Kaylee Burdick (Sun Valley, CA) each contributed six kills.
Senior Lauren Ellingwood (Kirkland, WA) and freshman Devin Callahan (Seattle, WA) facilitated the offense by distributing 11 and 17 assists, respectively, in split time on the court.
Defensively, sophomore libero Abby Hickman (Phoenix, AZ) came up with 11 digs for the Maroon and Gray.
With the sweep, Redlands doubles the number of wins from a year ago while snapping a 10-game skid.
Redlands (6-16, 2-10 SCIAC) travels to the University of La Verne on Saturday, October 24, to take on the No. 18 Leopards in a 6 p.m. conference showdown.