REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Volleyball team got off to a strong start Saturday afternoon against Pomona-Pitzer but couldn't pull out the Homecoming win, as they fell 25-22, 25-20, 25-11.
The Bulldogs were ready to go from the start in front of a packed house inside Currier Gym. The Maroon and Grey were the early aggressor, winning the first three points of the match, courtesy of three Sagehen errors.
Junior Saudya Reagor (Banning, CA) got the first kill of the match off a Shelby Dawson (Fontana, CA) assist, and that spearheaded an early push as UR put together a 7-1 run, which moved the score to 16-11. During the series Reagor and Dawson picked up two quick strikes, Paige Davidson (Spanaway, WA) and Makayla Sorensen (Lakewood, CA) came together for a block, and Reagor and Dawson ended things with another two kills.
The Sagehens responded quickly however, and put together their own 10-2 run that swung the momentum and put them on top 22-19. Sorenson was able to record a kill to break up the momentum to make it a two-point deficit and Reagor grabbed another kill to hold off a set point. But it wasn't enough as P-P held on for the early lead.
Senior Natalie Starlin (Las Vegas, NV) and Sorensen got UR off to a quick lead in the second set with a pair of kills. After that, it was back and forth with the Sagehens earning a slight lead midway through. It wasn't until the 14-10 mark when Redlands started their comeback, winning four of five to get within two at 16-14. After two P-P kills, the Maroon and Grey strung together another 5-1 run, this time fueled by a kill from sophomore Kiki Stradford (Lake Forest, CA), a Laural Pittman (Granada Hills, CA) service ace, and a kill from Angelina Hughes (Wildomar, CA), which tied things up at 19-19.
Davidson then switched roles with Dawson and earned the assist on her kill that tied the set up at 20, but the Bulldog momentum ended there, as they dropped the next five points, which gave Pomona-Pitzer the 2-0 advantage.
In the third, the Bulldogs fell behind early 9-3. They did get a spark from sophomore Hannah Miller (Round Rock, TX), who tallied a couple of kills and added a block during the frame. Reagor went back to back with strikes that pulled UR within ten, but P-P orchestrated a final 5-1 run that earned them the road sweep.
Reagor had a team-high six kills on the afternoon. Pittman had a team-high 12 digs, while Starlin had another great overall match with 11 digs, five kills, a service ace, and an assisted block. Dawson had a fantastic match, nearly recording a double-double with a team-high 11 assists, nine digs, and three kills.
The matches keep coming for the Bulldogs with another opportunity to pick up a win at Whittier College this Tuesday, October 26, at 7:00 p.m.