Despite a solid performance in the third set, the University of Redlands volleyball team faltered to the visiting Athenas of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges during Friday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match in Currier Gym by scores of 12-25, 18-25, 19-25.
CMS came out firing on all cylinders, racking up a first-frame hitting performance of .300, compared to the Bulldogs' mark of .026. The Athenas broke an early tie and never looked back en route to the opening victory.
The second stanza saw a more balanced battle that resulted in ties at 4-all and again at 6-all. However, CMS gained back-to-back points with sophomore opposite Bennett Jones (Monte Sereno, CA) at the service line, which created an advantage that prevailed through the final whistle.
After struggling on offense in the opening two frames, the Bulldogs settled down into an efficient attack during the third set. They uncorked a clip of .323, which equaled their opponents output on offense. Of the five hitters, all of them registered at least two of the 14 total kills in the closing set. Junior middle blocker Alexa Herlosky (Henderson, NV) unleashed four of her team-leading nine kills, while senior right-side hitter Alex Martin (Highlands Ranch, CO) contributed half of her six kills in the final set, which led to an overall showing of .455 on the night.
However, this positive adjustment was too little too late, as CMS pulled away from a knotted score at 12 apiece by taking advantage of Redlands' subsequent errors while effectively terminating the rallies.
Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Buckner (San Rafael, CA) added seven kills without a single error for the Bulldogs.
Sophomore setters Alisha Cornick (Hollister, CA) and Jennifer Wacker (Longmont, CO) shared the ball-distribution duties, registering 13 and 12 assists, respectively.
CMS gained a match-high 11 kills from freshman outside hitter Regina Mullen (Menlo Park, CA), while sophomore outside hitter Megan Richman (Highland Heights, OH) added 10 on 22 attempts for a .455 mark.
Sophomore setter Hilary Bruegl (Pasadena, CA) dished out 30 assists for the third-place Athenas (16-8, 7-3 SCIAC).
Redlands (3-18, 2-8 SCIAC) strives to halt its skid when it faces New York University in Saturday's non-conference bout at 11 a.m. in Currier Gym. The squad also hosts No. 14 Cal Lutheran University in SCIAC action at 6 p.m.