Box Score CLAREMONT, CA – Pomona-Pitzer fell to #8 Cal Lutheran in the season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Voelkel Gymnasium.
On Pomona Pitzer's (12-14, 7-9 SCIAC) Senior Day, the Sagehens couldn't keep pace with the Regals (24-2, 14-2) who used big runs late in each game to put away the match in straight sets 25-19, 25-19, and 25-13 en route to capturing their sixth consecutive SCIAC title. Stephanie Sun led the way for the Sagehens, compiling a team high 12 kills to go along with eight digs and one service ace. Michelle Schultz was exceptional in her final game of her career, tallying 23 digs to reach the 500 dig milestone for the season. Jessica Finn notched 25 assists to go with 12 digs while Julia Zwaal added six kills, two service aces, and one dig for the Sagehens.
Saturday's match included a pre-game ceremony honoring Pomona-Pitzer's two seniors Emma Burdekin and Michelle Schultz. The 2016 Senior Class compiled a 60-48 career record which included two SCIAC Tournament berths and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1987 in 2013.
Schultz, who is majoring in English with a minor in Media Studies at Pomona College, capped off her career with an excellent senior season that saw her among the top defensive performers in the nation. The 2015 SCIAC statistical champion in digs per set is currently ranked 20th among all Division-III players in the same category at 5.62 while finishing the season at 501 digs, good for second place in the SCIAC. Schultz is a 2013 & 2014 SCIAC All-Academic Team honoree and serves as the head mentor for the Black Student Mentorship Program at Pomona College.
Emma Burdekin complied her strongest season as a Sagehen in 2015, appearing in 25 of the team's 26 matches (77 sets) while notching career highs in kills (95), kills per set (1.26), assists (12), digs (18), and blocks (5). A two-time SCIAC All-Academic team member, Burdekin attends Pomona College where she majors in Biology while minoring in Spanish. With future plans of being a pediatrician, Burdekin spent the 2015 summer interning with La BioMed and has also worked with Make-A-Wish OCIE (2015) and GIRLS camp (2010 & 2011).
"We just weren't able to get the job done today" said head coach Valerie Townsend. "It's frustrating to end the season on these two matches after putting ourselves in a great spot for a SCIAC Tournament spot on Tuesday but we'll just have to learn from our mistakes and focus our attention on next season. We're really going to miss everything Michelle and Emma brought us over the past four years, especially leadership. All in all, I still think we're still headed in the right direction as a program and we've got some positive things to build off of from this season as we spend the rest of this year prepping for 2016."
Pomona-Pitzer finishes the season at 12-14 and in 5th place at the SCIAC at 7-9.
