THOUSAND OAKS, Ca. – The Sagehens volleyball team defeated California Lutheran 3-2 (25-12, 27-25, 23-25, 22-25, 15-7). The team picked up 58 kills with Chloe Gill (18k), Naomi Chen-Mallouk (12k), Paige Wilson (11k), and Grace Fan (10) all recording double-digit kills. Grace Fan led the team in blocks, picking up 10 total with five solos, tying her for first in the program in solo blocks in a match. Four Sagehens recorded double-digit digs with Lauren Asato leading the way with 20. Adrienne Tong dished out 25 assists while Kylie Mies chimed in for 20 as the duo directed the attack. The Sagehens will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 22 when they take on Caltech at 7:00 p.m. 

How It Happened

Pomona-Pitzer came out swinging in set one, hitting at a .520 clip with 15 kills on 25 attempts and two errors. The Sagehens started set one on a 14-3 run, featuring kills from Chloe Gill, Naomi Chen-Mallouk, Laurel Park, and Paige Wilson as well as service aces from Kylie Mies and Isabelle Alduino. The Sagehens extended their lead to 18-5 before California Lutheran went on a 4-0 but it was the Pomona-Pitzer 7-3 run that would end the set 25-12 and give the Sagehens the 1-0 lead. The run saw kills from Grace Fan, Chloe Gill, Naomi Chen-Mallouk, and Laurel Park.  

In set two, the Sagehens fell behind early after a 4-1 Regals run but answered with kills from Kellan Hayes and Chloe Gill to tie the game at 4-4. California Lutheran regained the lead at 6-4 and held of pressure from the Sagehens, extending their lead to 11-7. Pomona-Pitzer picked up back-to-back solo blocks and a kill from Grace Fan to pull within one at 11-10, forcing a Regals timeout. Out of the break, Grace Fan and Naomi Chen-Mallouk picked up a block to tie the game at 11-11. The two teams traded attacks, working to a tie on three occasions before the Regals went on a 3-0 run to take a 18-15 lead. The Regals run was ended after a block from Laurel Park and Kellan Hayes. Paige Wilson followed the play with a kill to pull the Sagehens back within one at 18-17. From there, the Regals recorded three of the next four points to force Pomona-Pitzer to call a timeout as they trailed 22-19. Out of the break, the Regals picked up a block, but the Sagehens went on a 3-0 run with kills from Naomi Chen-Mallouk and Grace Fan as well as a block from the duo. The run forced a Regals timeout with the Sagehens trailing 23-22 but out of the break, Grace Fan tied the set 23-23 with a kill right down the middle. Chen-Mallouk kept things going with a kill of her own to give Pomona-Pitzer the 24-23 lead, but the Regals picked up a kill and an ace to regain the lead at 25-24. Chen-Mallouk tied the game with her fifth kill of the game before a Regals attack error and Kellan Hayes kill completed the come ack 27-25 set win for the Sagehens.

Set three saw the Regals storm out to a 10-3 lead but the Sagehens quickly countered, going on a 7-2 run to pull within two at 12-10. The Sagehens continued to push forward, utilizing kills from Chloe Gill and Naomi Chen-Mallouk along with blocks from Kellan Hayes and Chloe Kerstein to tie the game at 15-15. The Regals quickly regained the lead and made a quick run to a 20-17 lead, forcing the Sagehens to talk things over. Out of the break, Pomona-Pitzer went on a 3-1 run with kills from Naomi Chen-Mallouk and Chloe Gill, forcing the Regals to call a timeout of their own with the Sagehens trailing 21-20. Coming out of the timeout, Pomona-Pitzer picked up a kill from Chen-Mallouk before a Chen-Mallouk and Hayes block gave the Sagehens the 22-21 lead, forcing another Regals timeout. Out of the timeout, Chloe Gill picked up a kill, but the Regals went on a 4-0 run to take the third set 25-23.

Grace Fan earned a solo block to start set four as the Sagehens quickly worked to a 3-1 lead. The Regals answered back after close back and forth play to take the lead at 10-8. Pomona-Pitzer regained their lead at 15-13 after a 7-3 run with kills from Naomi Chen-Mallouk, Grace Fan, and Chloe Gill. The two teams went point-for-point for 13-straight points with the Regals coming out with a slight 21-20 lead, forcing a Pomona-Pitzer timeout. Out of the break, the Regals went on a 3-1 run to take a 23-22 lead and force another Sagehen timeout. The Regals weren't phased by the break as they picked up the last two points of the set to take a 25-22 lead and tie the game at 2-2, forcing a fifth set.

After dropping the last two sets, the Sagehens regrouped and went on a 5-1 run to start the fifth set thanks to blocks from Grace Fan and Naomi Chen-Mallouk. The Regals closed the gap with a 3-1 run but kills from Chloe Gill and Paige Wilson along with a block from Kellan Hayes and Paige Wilson gave the Sagehens a 10-6 lead, forcing a Regals timeout. Out of the break, the Sagehens continued to pile on the points, picking up kills two kills from Paige Wilson, a service ace from Adrienne Tong and a game-winning block from Grace Fan. The 5-1 run to end the fifth set gave Pomona-Pitzer a 15-7 victory in the set and a 3-2 win over the Regals. 

What's Up Next

As mentioned, Pomona-Pitzer will host the Caltech Beavers on Friday at 7:00 p.m.