CLAREMONT, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team defeated La Verne 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-22) after dropping the opening set. The Sagehens earned 53 kills on the night with Chloe Gill (15), Grace Fan (12), and Paige Wilson (10) all recording double-digit kills. The match featured tough defense around the net from Pomona-Pitzer with Grace Fan earning two solo blocks while earning five block assists. Kellan Hayes earned six block assists and Laurel Park contributed five block assists as well. Kylie Mies led the team with 24 assists while Adrienne Tong dished out 22 of her own. Lauren Asato and Paige Wilson anchored the defense, picking up 25 digs and 23 digs, respectively. Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 19 when they travel to California Lutheran at 7:00 p.m.

How It Happened

La Verne picked up the early advantage in set one, taking a 14-5 lead before extending it to 20-10 just moments later. The Sagehens utilized a late 8-0 rally to close the gap to 21-18 but a 4-0 run from the Leopards ended the set 25-18. 

Chloe Gill picked up the first kill of set two as the Sagehens and Leopards traded swings until a 5-5 tie was broken by a 4-0 run from Pomona-Pitzer. The Sagehens continued to attack as Paige Wilson, Grace Fan, and Chloe Gill continued to attack, extending the Pomona-Pitzer lead to 17-11. La Verne then went on a 7-2 run to pull within one at 19-18 but the Sagehens answered with a 6-1 run to take set two 25-19 and tie the match 1-1.  

Set three saw early solo blocks from Chloe Kerstein and Kellan Hayes as the Sagehens worked to a 6-3 lead. Pomona-Pitzer was on the better side of a 7-4 run, pushing their lead to 13-7 but the Leopards fought back with a 4-0 run to force Pomona-Pitzer to call a timeout with their lead cut to two points at 13-11. Out of the break, the Sagehens picked up kills from Grace Fan, Chloe Gill, and Paige Wilson en route to a 19-13 lead to make La Verne talk it over. The two teams traded 3-0 runs out of the break but it was the Sagehens who picked up the set win after kills from Laurel Park, Paige Wilson, and Grace Fan pushed them to the 25-20 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Pomona-Pitzer started set four with a heavy attack, taking a 9-3 lead thanks to kills from Gill, Wilson, and Laurel Park. The six-point lead was short lived as La Verne answered with a 7-2 run to cut the lead to one at 11-10, forcing a Sagehen timeout. Moments later, La Verne brought the game to a tie at 12-12 but Pomona-Pitzer regained the lead at 20-16 with an 8-4 run, picking up kills from Wilson and Hayes along with blocks by Gill, Hayes, Kerstein, Fan, and Park. La Verne rallied right back, taking a 21-20 lead with a 5-0 run but Pomona-Pitzer earned five of the next six points to take set four 25-22 and earn the 3-1 victory over the Leopards. The late run from Pomona-Pitzer featured kills from Wilson, Fan, and Gill as well as a service ace from Adrienne Tong. 

What's Up Next

As mentioned, the Sagehens will be back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to Cal Lutheran at 7:00 p.m.