Redlands Women's Volleyball Slips to Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens

Photo credit: Stephanie Schoppe
Photo credit: Stephanie Schoppe

The University of Redlands women's volleyball team traveled to nearby Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Tuesday evening for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match against the Sagehens.  After topping the Sagehens in four sets back on September 22, the Bulldogs hoped to complete the season sweep but fell short in tonight's match, 22-25, 12-25, 18-25.

In the first set, Redlands trailed early by three points but a pair of quality blocks helped the visiting team get back on track.  Sophomore middle blocker Sofia Olsson (Cupertino, CA) and sophomore right-side hitter Melanie Fyda (Chicago, IL) joined forces to make it 7-9, while Olsson teamed up with sophomore outside hitter Christina Casey (Sherwood, OR) for a block at 9-10.

Redlands kept it close with quality kills by sophomore right-side hitter Megan Houston (Normandy Park, WA), sophomore middle hitter Sammi Tafoya (Granite Bay, CA), Fyda, and Casey, as sophomore setter Emily Marty (Chula Vista, CA) and junior setter Jackie Andrade (Seattle, WA) effectively distributed the ball.

Now tied at 16 apiece, Marty's service ace put the Bulldogs in front for the first time since the score was 2-1.  The teams traded points before Olsson and Casey put up a monster block to knot the score again at 18.

After Pomona-Pitzer gained the lead on a pair of Bulldog miscues, Redlands responded with a crafty put-away by Marty and a kill apiece by freshman outside hitter Savannah Casey (Encinitas, CA) and Fyda to make it a one-point game.  Although another Sagehen error evened the tally at 22 all, Pomona-Pitzer answered with three-straight points to earn the opening-set win, 25-22.

Pomona-Pitzer carried this momentum into the second set and cruised to the 25-12 win.

Redlands showed new life in the third frame by earning a 6-1 advantage, with Olsson leading the charge.  She accounted for a kill off of Marty's assist and contributed to two blocks with Fyda and Casey.

However, the Sagehens stormed back to force a tight battle.  Beginning at 11 apiece, Pomona-Pitzer put together mini, scoring runs to eventually pull away for the 25-18 win.

Olsson paced the Maroon and Gray with six kills and five block assists. Fyda added five kills at a clip of .286.  Marty and Andrade nearly split the assists at 11 and 12, respectively.  Senior libero Abigail Hickman (Phoenix, AZ) provided 15 digs.

Redlands (6-14, 2-10 SCIAC) returns home to Currier Gym on Friday, October 20, for a 7 p.m. contest against Occidental College.  The Bulldogs will also celebrate Senior Night prior to the first serve.