THOUSAND OAKS, CA: Cal Lutheran used fast starts and key late runs to keep the Sagehens at bay and hold on for a 3-0 victory in Tuesday night's SCIAC action.

The Regals (17-2, 3-0 SCIAC), who entered Tuesday's match with the #6 ranking in the October 6 AVCA Division III poll, used fast starts to take control of the first two sets but would need late rallies in all of them to put away Pomona-Pitzer in straight sets. The Sagehens (8-8, 3-4 SCIAC) would find themselves down 9-2 to start the first set but put together a run of their own on the back of five Regal attack errors to cut the deficit to 18-15. However, it was all Cal Lutheran the rest of the way, using a 7-2 run to close out the first set 25-17.

The second set would follow in similar fashion, as after an early 7-1 deficit the Sagehens came roaring back to take a 19-16 lead led by a combined six kills from Sarah Gamble and Stephanie Sun (3/3). However, the Regals would once again turn on the jets late with a 6-1 run to claim the second set 25-20. The third set would start with a much tighter 5-4 Cal Lutheran lead before a 10-1 run would give the Regals their largest lead of the night at 15-5. The Hens would fight back to within striking distance, trailing by only three (20-17) and two (22-20) late but the Regals would put the set away 25-20 on two consecutive kills and a service ace to take the match.

Junior Stephanie Sun (pictured) continued her strong start to the first half of conference play, tallying a team high 10 kills to go with 10 digs. Junior Sarah Gamble and Sophomore Kate Porter were big contributors at the net for the Sagehens as Gamble compiled seven kills to go with five digs and four blocks while Porter had six kills, three assists, and two blocks. Senior Michelle Schultz and Sophomore Jessica Finn led Pomona-Pitzer on the defensive end, with Schultz tallying 19 digs while Finn had 10 digs to go with her 23 assists on the night.

"This was a tough loss for us as I felt we competed well with them in every set" said head coach Valerie Townsend. "We needed to do a better job of not getting down early [in the first two sets] but I'm proud of the way the girls responded and fought their way back each time. This season is still a long process but we're continuing to improve and put ourselves in the best position for the second half of SCIAC play."

The Sagehens will return home for a Thursday night matchup versus Whittier scheduled for 7:30pm. Live coverage of the event will be brought to you on the Pomona-Pitzer Athletics Website.