WHITTIER, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team picked up a hard fought 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 14-25, 15-10) victory over the Whittier Poets on the road. The match saw 53 Sagehen kills with Paige Wilson leading the way with 13 while Naomi Chen-Mallouk and Chloe Gill also earned double-digit kills with 12 and 11, respectively. On the night, Wilson swung at an impressive .417 clip with the team recording a .142 hitting percentage. Adrienne Tong dished out 28 assists while Kylie Mies chimed in for 16 of her own. Lauren Asato earned 23 digs on the night with Wilson picking up 12 in addition to her stellar attack. Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. when they take on La Verne.

How It Happened

The Sagehens took control of set one early, starting things off with a 5-0 run before taking a 10-3 lead thanks to kills from Kylie Mies, Paige Wilson, and Kellan Hayes. The two teams went back and forth briefly but Whittier called a timeout with the Sagehens up 15-7. Out of the break, the Poets pulled within three at 15-12 but Pomona-Pitzer pulled away with kills from Grace Fan and Chloe Gill to take a 19-13 lead. The Poets rallied back once more, pulling within four at 22-18 but the Sagehens benefited from two service errors and an attacking error to take set one 25-19.  

Set two featured a much closer start as the two teams traded swings, working to a tie on five different occasions before the Sagehens forced a Whittier timeout after a 4-0 run gave them a 10-7 lead. The timeout produced one point for the Poets, but the Sagehens continued their run, taking the next three points to extend their lead to 13-8. From there, Whittier held the Sagehens to three points as they fought back to tie the game at 16-16. Pomona-Pitzer regained the lead after back-to-back Whittier attack errors, but the Poets answered right back with three-straight points to take a 19-18 lead. Two kills from Paige Wilson gave the Sagehens a 20-19 lead but Whittier answered back with two points to take a 21-20 lead. Naomi Chen-Mallouk and Paige Wilson both recorded kills to regain the lead at 22-21 and force a Whittier timeout. Out of the break, the Poets earned a kill, but Chen-Mallouk and Wilson came through for the Sagehens with kills to take set two 25-22.  

In set three, the Sagehens held a 3-2 lead, but the Poets pushed back and outlasted Pomona-Pitzer throughout the set. The Sagehens pulled within two on four occasions but couldn't get past the Poets attack late in set as Whittier ended the game on a 5-3 run to take the set 25-20. The Poets carried their momentum into set four, going on a 13-5 run to start the set before expanding their lead to 19-9. The Sagehens picked up kills from Paige Wilson and Chloe Gill to get into double digits, but the Poets continued to attack, taking the set 25-14 to force a decisive fifth set.  

The Poets took the first point of the fifth set, but the two teams traded swings until Pomona-Pitzer finally earned a two-point lead at 9-7. The back-and-forth action saw kills from Naomi Chen-Mallouk, Chloe Gill, Paige Wilson, and a service ace from Isabelle Alduino. The Sagehens continued to attack, picking up more kills from Chen-Mallouk and Wilson to take a 13-10 lead, forcing a Whittier timeout. Out of the break, the Poets recorded an attack error before Paige Wilson earned the final kill to give the Sagehens the 15-10 fifth set win and the 3-2 victory over the Poets.

What's Up Next

As mentioned, the Sagehens won't waste any time getting back on the court as they take on La Verne tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.