REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Volleyball team faced off against the undefeated, No. 2 ranked team in the country in Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) on Tuesday night, falling 25-15, 25-22, 25-15, despite putting up a strong effort.
The Bulldogs' fight was apparent from the start, winning the first four points and five of the first six led by a pair of kills from Kiki Stradford (Lake Forest, CA), while capitalizing on three Athena errors.
As one would expect from an undefeated team who is ranked second in the country, the Athenas fought back to take a 9-6 lead, but the Bulldogs were able to stem the tide, winning three of the next five points to make their deficit only two.
Sophomore Bella Thornbury(Grass Valley, Calif.) found junior Saudya Reagor (Banning, Calif.) for two of the points with sophomores Hannah Miller (Round Rock, Texas) and Makayla Sorenson (Lakewood, Calif.) combining on a block for another.
The U of R extended their run from 3-2 to 6-4 with an Athena mistake and two Natalie Starlin (Sr., Las Vegas) kills. Down the stretch the Maroon and Grey got within five behind a pair of strikes from Miller and Reagor, but it wouldn't be enough as CMS would close out the opening frame with four unanswered.
The set second was not as hot of a start for the Bulldogs, but they did win two of the first three points thanks to Shelby Dawson (Fontana, CA) who had a service ace and an assist to Stradford. The start of the set may not have been as crazy as the first, but this time the Bulldogs held a lead through 20 points played at 12-8. The Bulldogs' ability to keep plays alive and force the Athenas to beat them worked, with eight Bulldog points coming courtesy of Athena miscues.
After CMS closed within one, the Bulldogs pulled away to a four-point lead again, this time at 15-11, after senior Paige Davidson (Spanaway, Wash.) picked up a kill and first-year Laural Pittman (Granada Hills, Calif.) had a service ace.
The game would get tied on five more occasions down the stretch, with the last coming at 21-21. Starlin kept it a one-point margin following a kill that moved the score to 23-22, but that's the closest UR would get as a kill by CMS and an attacking error would give Claremont-M-S a 2-0 advantage.
Davidson and Starlin opened the third set with kills and evened the match at two. After the tie the Bulldogs dropped the next five points and it looked like CMS would run away with it, but the Bulldogs did not give in, getting within two, 11-9, after Reagor beat the Athena defense for a pair of kills. The two-point deficit was the closest the Bulldogs were the rest of the third as CMS would go on an 8-2 run to open things at 20-11. Starlin, Sorensen, and Davidson tried to create one final push with a trio of kills, but the deficit was too much as they would fall in straights.
The Bulldogs played their best overall match of the season, hitting .113 (seventh best of the season), with 13 errors (fewest of the season), 53 digs (fifth most this season, third most in a three-set match), allowed only a .242 opponent hitting percent which is the second lowest of the season for CMS (lowest was against No. 3 Trinity (Texas))
Starlin had team-highs of 15 digs and eight kills, Thornbury had a team-high 11 assists, and Dawson led with a team-high two service aces, 11 digs, nine assists, and a kill.
The Bulldogs will try and use their momentum and confidence in their road match at Chapman University this Friday, October 22 at 7:00pm and will then host Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, October 23 beginning at 3:00pm on Homecoming.
