Claremont, Calif. - The Pomona-Pitzer Volleyball team dropped the first set of both matches on Saturday, but came from behind to earn 3-1 wins over both NYU and George Fox to complete a 4-0 opening weekend at the Pacific Coast Classic. 

The Sagehens, who opened the tournament on Friday by defeating St. Mary's (Md.) 3-2 (after dropping the first set in that one as well) and Colby-Sawyer 3-0, placed senior Michelle Schultz and freshman Julia Zwaal (pictured, photo by Seth Sanchez) on the Pacific Coast Classic All-Tournament team. Schultz totaled 92 digs in four matches (going over 1,000 for her career on Friday), while Zwaal ended the weekend with 87 kills.  

"I am thrilled with our performance this weekend," said Head Coach Valerie Townsend. "We are a young team this year and are still figuring out what we have, and we had a goal as a coaching staff of getting through this weekend above .500. I couldn't be more pleased to come out of it 4-0."

The NYU match saw the Violets take the first set 25-21, but the Sagehens matched the score in the second set with a 25-21 of their own, with Zwaal closing it out with back-to-back kills. Pomona-Pitzer found its groove from there, winning 25-14 in the third set, and 25-18 in the fourth to take the 3-1 win.   

Zwaal finished with 23 kills, while junior Stephanie Sun had a strong outing with 16 kills. Sophomore setter Jessica Finn had 44 assists, and senior libero Michelle Schultz again led the defense with 22 digs.

The nightcap against George Fox followed a similar pattern, with Pomona-Pitzer falling 25-14 in the first set and then matching the same score in the second set, winning 25-14 to get back level at a set apiece. A close third set was knotted 23-23 before back-to-back Zwaal kills gave the Sagehens the advantage, and Pomona-Pitzer was able to seize control in the fourth set and take a 25-17 win for a 3-1 victory.

Zwaal had 24 kills in the nightcap, to give her 20 or more in all four matches of her first collegiate weekend, while Sun added 14 more kills to give her 30 on the day. Finn added 49 assists, and Schultz had a huge match on defense with 29 digs.

Townsend has been encouraged by her team's resiliency in the early part of the season, bouncing back from early deficits. "That shows that we can buckle down and take care of business when we needed to," she said. "Of course, we'd rather not keep falling behind, but that's part of being a young team. We have to learn how to make changes faster." 

Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Sept. 15, when it opens SCIAC play with a road match at Redlands.