Claremont, Calif. - The Pomona-Pitzer Volleyball team defeated Macalaster 3-1 on Saturday afternoon, but fell 3-1 to Hardin-Simmons in the evening at the Cal Lutheran Posada Royale Invitational.

It was the second straight day that the Sagehens split their two matches at the Posada Royale, after opening the tournament with a 3-0 loss to UC Santa Cruz and defeating Wesley 3-0 on Friday. Match scores were 25-20, 25-11, 22-25, 25-22 in the Macalaster win, and 17-25, 19-25, 25-23, 16-25 in the loss to Hardin-Simmons.

Overall for the season, the Sagehens are now 5-3, including a 3-1 record at their home tournament last weekend (the Pacific Coast Classic) and a 2-2 record this weekend.

In the Macalaster match, Pomona-Pitzer appeared to be cruising to an easy win after 25-20 and 25-11 wins in the first two games, but Macalaster regrouped to take the third game 25-22. However, sophomore outside hitter Ellen Yamasaki proved to be too much, as she finished the match with 20 kills in 60 attempts, while adding 18 digs.

Freshman Michelle Schultz added 12 kills and 17 digs, while sophomore setter Dani Kritter just missed a triple-double with 10 digs and nine kills to go with her 35 assists. The Sagehen defense was also outstanding, totaling 10 blocks on the day, with Samantha Cahill, Hannah Wayment-Steele and Emma Burdekin each contributing to five of them. Junior defensive specialist Beth Smilkstein also had 25 digs, while junior defensive specialist Nicole Bauthier added 17.

The second match of the day was the inverse of the first one, as the Sagehens fell behind 2-0, rallied to win the third game 25-23, but then fell in the fourth. Schultz (14 kills) and Yamasaki (13 kills) once again paced the offense, while Cahill (four block assists) led the defense. Senior libero Lauren Kim added a team-high 19 digs, while Yamasaki was right behind with 18.

Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Friday, when it opens SCIAC play with a road match at La Verne, beginning at 7:30 p.m.