Redlands Women's Volleyball Suffers Four-Set Loss to Occidental

Photo credit: Sam Keary
Photo credit: Sam Keary

The University of Redlands women's volleyball team traveled to Occidental College on Saturday evening for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match against the Tigers. Despite snagging the second set in impressive comeback fashion, the Bulldogs struggled to maintain their offensive momentum and ultimately fell to the Tigers, 22-25, 27-25, 18-25, 15-25.

Although Redlands tallied the first point of the opening set off a nice kill from sophomore outside hitter Melanie Fyda (Chicago, IL), Occidental subsequently went on a 4-0 streak that provided enough of a lead for the Tigers to stay ahead. The visiting team pulled within two at 11-13 off of crafty kills by freshman middle hitter Hannah Lanyon (San Diego, CA) and sophomore right-side hitter Maloree Kupp (Sunnyside, WA), but the Tigers pulled away to take the first set in a 25-22 decision.

With the Bulldogs down by nearly 10 points midway through the second set, Head Coach Lisa Lindberg called a much-needed timeout. Thanks to some errors by the Tigers and a Lanyon ace, the Bulldogs pulled within one at 18-19. A monstrous block from freshman right-side hitter Marlena Ramanis (Walnut Creek, CA) and sophomore middle hitter Sofia Olsson (Cupertino, CA) equalized the score at 21-apiece. Occidental continued to make blunders on its side of the court, while the Bulldogs remained tenacious and persistent. Houston fired off one more kill for Redlands to take the second set by a score of 27-25.

Despite keeping the tally tight through the third set, Redlands fell, 18-25. The Tigers fired off their best hitting percentage of the night, providing plenty for the Bulldogs to handle.  This success re-energized the Occidental offense, which took home the fourth set, 25-15, for the victory.

Olsson put together a great night at the net by rocketing down nine kills on 12 attempts for an incredible .750 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Emily Marty (Chula Vista, CA) served as the primary ball-distributor, dishing out 18 assists.

The Bulldogs (3-6, 1-3 SCIAC) look to return to the win column on Tuesday, September 26, as they host Whittier College in Currier Gym for a 7 p.m. start.