The University of Redlands volleyball team faced off against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in tonight's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) showdown between the fifth-place Bulldogs and the fourth-place Sagehens. In a tight battle, the Maroon and Gray came up short in the final stanza, suffering a difficult five-set loss by scores of 25-15, 17-25, 25-22, 20-25, 14-16.
Tied at 7-all in the opening set, Redlands rattled off seven straight points with senior outside hitter Jackie Hamilton (Loma Linda, CA) at the service line. During this span, the Sagehen offense struggled with errors while three different Bulldogs put the ball away on a kill. Pomona-Pitzer managed to cut the lead to five at 12-17 but to no avail as Redlands cruised to a 10-point victory.
The second frame saw a role reversal between the two teams as the Sagehens broke an 11-11 tie with four consecutive kills and never looked back. Pomona-Pitzer posted its best attack during this set, earning a .235 hitting percentage.
During the tightest stanza of the match, Redlands garnered a 13-10 advantage when senior middle blocker Megan Phillips (Vista, CA) and freshman outside hitter Morgan Buckner (Hollister, CA) combined for three straight kills. But the Sagehens responded with six consecutive points as sophomore middle blocker Rachel Bollens (Seattle, WA) knocked down two kills and put up a block assist during this stretch. Down 13-16, Redlands continued to slowly chip away at the deficit until it finally regained the lead off of tough serving by Buckner and effective hitting by Phillips, making it 18-17. The Bulldogs eventually nabbed a five-point lead as Hamilton stepped up with big kills while errors plagued the Sagehen offense. Although Pomona-Pitzer clawed back to within two points at 21-23, Redlands looked to Hamilton and senior middle blocker Kirby McCord (Huntington Beach, CA) to come up with big offensive plays, which led to a 25-22 decision.
Holding a 2-1 match lead and the momentum, the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 11-5 lead in the fourth set. However, the Sagehens cut the lead to one at 14-15 and eventually tied it at 17 as Redlands struggled with too many miscues. Three consecutive Bulldog errors resulted in a 20-17 advantage for Pomona-Pitzer, which was all it needed to eventually capture the fourth set and even the match score.
Appearing to be in control of the deciding set, the Sagehens extended an early 4-2 lead to 7-4. But the Maroon and Gray rallied back to knot the score at 10 apiece with senior libero Chelsea Arcaris (Vista, CA) at the service line. Back-and-forth play ensued with tie scores coming again at 12-all and 13-all. With match point on their serve, the Bulldogs had the opportunity to put the match away but another big kill by Bollens garnered another tie at 14. Consecutive hitting errors put the match out of reach for the Bulldogs as Pomona-Pitzer prevailed by a score of 16-14.
For Redlands, Hamilton posted a match-high 25 kills to go along with 23 digs and three service aces. Phillips uncorked a hitting percentage of .312 on 14 kills, four errors, and 32 attacks. Buckner provided a well-rounded effort by contributing 12 kills, 15 digs, and four block assists. Freshman libero Brittney Overgaag (Palm Desert, CA) supplied a match-high 39 digs. Freshman setter Alisha Cornick (Hollister, CA) distributed 57 assists.
Pomona-Pitzer gained a team-high 17 kills from senior right side hitter Eleanor Hughes (St. Paul, MN), while Bollens added 16 and junior outside hitter Jordan Hammond (Tulsa, OK) provided 10. Junior libero Heidi Leonard (Del mar, CA) paced the Sagehen defense with 38 digs. Freshman libero Beth Smilkstein (Portland, OR) and Hughes also came up with impressive numbers at 26 and 24 digs, respectively. Junior setter Kenzie Aries (Encinitas, CA) dished out 52 assists for the Sagehens.
The Bulldogs (17-10, 5-7 SCIAC) look to rebound on Friday when they travel to Whittier College for another important conference showdown at 7:30 p.m.
