The University of Redlands women's volleyball team traveled to Santa Clarita on Tuesday night for a non-conference match against NAIA competitor, The Master's University. The Bulldogs struggled to establish their offensive rhythm against the Mustangs and ultimately lost in three sets, 18-25, 19-25, 21-25.
Each set provided promise and opportunity for the Maroon and Gray, resulting in tight scores early on. But TMU found ways to put together significant scoring runs that ultimately left Redlands in a late-set deficit.
In the final and closest set, the Bulldogs stepped up defensively and held the Mustangs to a .000 hitting performance. This was highlighted by a pair of impressive blocks by sophomore right-side hitter Megan Houston (Normandy Park, WA) and sophomore middle hitter Sammi Tafoya (Granite Bay, CA) and later by freshman right-side hitter Marlena Ramanis (Walnut Creek, CA) and sophomore middle hitter Sofia Olsson (Cupertino, CA).
Freshman outside hitter Angelina Hughes (Wildomar, CA) paced the Bulldogs with seven kills, while freshman outside hitter Melanie Fyda (Chicago, IL) and Houston chipped in five apiece. Sophomore setter Emily Marty (Chula Vista, CA) and junior setter Jackie Andrade (Seattle, WA) ran the offense by combining for 20 assists. Senior defensive specialist Abigail Hickman (Phoenix, AZ) supplied three aces and 16 digs, as freshman defensive specialist Ally Busch (Long Beach, CA) came up with 11 digs for the Maroon and Gray.
Redlands (2-3) opens Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday, September 16, by hosting No. 15 University of La Verne in a 2 p.m. showdown in Currier Gym.