The University of Redlands volleyball team returned home to Currier Gym on Tuesday night but suffered a three-set loss to the visiting Tigers of Occidental College in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) competition. Despite some incredible rallies that often ended with a big block or stellar attack, the Bulldogs came up short in the 13-25, 24-26, 13-25 decision.
After what seemed like a closer opening stanza than the score reflected, the Maroon and Gray rallied for a solid display in the second frame. The Tigers jumped out to an early 5-2 lead and eventually sat on top at 16-12. Tough play by junior outside hitter Morgan Buckner (San Rafael, CA) helped to lift the Bulldogs to a 17-all tie, as she notched a kill and two service aces during this stretch.
The squads continued to trade punches, countering earned points with forced errors.
The Bulldogs finally took the lead at 21-20, when senior outside hitter Sam Dodson (Alamogordo, NM) knocked down a kill.
Moments later, Occidental held a 23-21 advantage and appeared to be on cruise control for the second-set victory.
However, the Bulldogs came storming back to tie it up at 23, as sophomore middle blocker Maddi Clark (Escondido, CA) crushed a kill and then joined forces with sophomore right-side hitter Jackie Starks (Long Beach, CA) for a huge block.
Back-and-forth play ensued until the Tigers gained consecutive kills to nab the hard-fought 26-24 tally.
Overall, freshman middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA) led the Bulldog offense with eight kills, while Buckner added seven and Clark chipped in six.
Defensively, junior libero Brittney Overgaag (Palm Desert, CA) offered 21 digs and junior setter Alisha Cornick (Hollister, CA) backed her with 10. Cornick also dished out 22 assists.
For Occidental (12-4, 5-3 SCIAC), senior outside hitter Logan Boyer-Hayse (Boulder, CO) shined with 14 kills, with senior outside hitter Kasey Rose (Los Olivos, CA) adding 13. Junior libero Madyson Cassidy (Arcadia, CA) provided a match-high 23 digs and junior setter Jessie Altman (La Jolla, CA) came up with 34 assists.
Redlands (5-9, 1-7 SCIAC) continues a tough stretch of SCIAC matches with Saturday's showdown against tied-for-first-place Chapman University at 1 p.m. in Currier Gym.
