Claremont, Calif. - The Pomona-Pitzer Volleyball team regrouped for a third game win after a sluggish start, but ultimately fell 3-1 to CMS on Tuesday evening.

Game scores were 25-15, 25-9, 15-25, 25-17 as CMS improves to 16-9 overall and 8-6 in the SCIAC, staying alive in the battle for the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament. Pomona-Pitzer slips to 9-13 overall and 4-10 in league play with the loss.

The match did not start well for the Sagehens, as freshman Michelle Schultz (Chicago, Ill.) was one of the few bright spots in the early going, tallying five kills in the first game. However, CMS jumped out to a 6-1 lead and used a 3-0 run after the Sagehens got back within 7-4 on a Maria Weyhrauch (Juneau, Alaska) kill to pull away. The second game saw CMS roar out to an 8-0 lead and never look back as it went ahead 2-0 with a 25-9 win.  

The third game was just the opposite, though, as Pomona-Pitzer stormed out to an 11-2 lead. Sophomore setter Dani Kritter (Culpepper, Va.) started the game off with two straight aces, and senior libero Lauren Kim (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) pushed the lead to 11-2 with her second ace of the game, which hit the tape and rolled over onto the CMS side.

CMS tried to fight their way back in it, but Kim picked up her third ace of the game to stem one rally, and after the Athenas pulled within 21-15, sophomore Samantha Cahill (Vancouver, Wash. - pictured) had back-to-back kills and then combined with Kritter on the game-winning block.

The fourth game, though, went the other way, as CMS used a block of a Schultz attack on match point to take a 25-17 win. A 5-1 Athena run turned a narrow 10-9 lead into a 15-10 advantage midway through the game. Cahill had a pair of kills to keep it close, but a 3-0 CMS run stretched their lead from 19-15 to 22-15, and the Sagehens were unable to fight back.

Sophomore Ellen Yamasaki (Salinas, Calif.) led the Sagehens with 12 kills, while Kim had a team-high 16 digs. Regina Mullen and Megan Richman led CMS with 14 kills apiece.

Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Friday when it travels to Redlands before ending its 2012 campaign at home against Chapman on Saturday at 6 p.m.