Bulldog Women's Volleyball Sweeps the Caltech Beavers

Photo credit: Ben Nichols
Photo credit: Ben Nichols

The University of Redlands women's volleyball team hit the road for Tuesday night's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match, which pitted the Bulldogs against the Caltech Beavers in Pasadena.  With persistence and focus, the Maroon and Gray cruised to a three-set sweep by scores of 25-20, 25-17, 25-19.

The Bulldogs ran out to a 6-1 lead with first-year outside hitter Natalie Starlin (Las Vegas, NV) firing off quality serves.  In addition, first-year setter Tati Luevano (San Pablo, CA) ran an effective offense that saw junior outside hitter Christina Casey (Sherwood, OR) and junior middle blocker Sofia Olsson (Cupertino, CA) put down kills early on.

Redlands kept up the intensity with point-winning plays along the net that included kills by junior right-side hitter Maloree Kupp (Sunnyside, WA), sophomore middle blocker Hannah Lanyon (San Diego, CA), and Starlin.

Leading 21-14, the Bulldogs rolled to the opening win, with Kupp and Lanyon combining for a well-timed block, while sophomore libero Ally Busch (Long Beach, CA) provided big defensive plays from the back row.

During the second set, Redlands broke open a 2-2 tie with an excellent attack that also benefitted from Caltech's miscues. 

Leading 16-13, the Bulldogs unleashed six straight points, as highlighted by a pair of kills from first-year outside hitter Paige Davidson (Spanaway, WA).  Furthermore, Lanyon and junior right-side hitter Melanie Fyda (Chicago, IL) teamed up late in the match for back-to-back kills for Redlands' two-set advantage.

The Maroon and Gray closed in on the sweep by jumping out to a 10-5 lead in the third set.  Davidson provided kills or served off four of these early points, while Casey continued to find hardwood in key rallies.  Olsson made her presence known as well, as Luevano distributed the ball to the hot hitter across the front row. Redlands put the exclamation point on the night with back-to-back kills by Kupp and Davidson to seal the deal.

Casey posted a match-high 13 kills, which came off a .500 hitting percentage without a single error. Kupp added seven kills on a .462 attack, while Olsson and Lanyon collectively supplied 11 kills.

Luevano ran the offense with 36 of the team's 44 assists. Busch stepped up with 20 digs.

Redlands (12-13, 3-11 SCIAC) hosts Occidental College on Friday, October 26, at 3 p.m. for its final home match of the regular season.