LA VERNE, Ca. – The Sagehens picked up a 3-1 (25-23, 25-11, 21-25, 25-19) victory over the Loggers. Chloe Gill led the attack with 15 kills on 41 attempts for a .268 hitting percentage. Following closely behind was Paige Wilson who had 14 kills on 45 attempts with a .267 clip. Naomi Chen-Mallouk was also a key contributor, picking up 10 kills. The Sagehens defense was led by Lauren Asato who recorded 22 digs and seven assists. Adrienne Tong picked up 31 assists with Kylie Mies recording 16 of her own. In their second match of the day, Gill picked up 16 kills to lead all hitters. Pomona-Pitzer defeated the Pirates 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23), giving them a 3-1 record on the weekend. Notably, Paige Wilson was selected to the All-Tournament Team after recording 42 kills, good for 2.80 kills per set and a .251 hitting percentage. Wilson also picked up 51 digs on the weekend, averaging 3.4 per set. 

Game One – Pomona-Pitzer 3, Puget Sound 1

The Sagehens opened the first set on a 3-1 run with kills from Chloe Gill and Kellan Hayes but the Loggers answered back with a quick attack to take a 6-5 lead. Pomona-Pitzer regained the lead at 10-7 with kills from Paige Wilson and a service ace from Kellan Hayes but Puget Sound responded with a 5-0 run to make it 12-10. Coming down the stretch, the two teams traded blows, working to a tie on eight occasions. The Sagehen attack was led by Paige Wilson, Chloe Gill, and Naomi Chen-Mallouk as the trio recorded the last three kills of the set to give Pomona-Pitzer the 25-23 set win and a 1-0 lead in the contest.

Three errors and a kill from Chen-Mallouk gave the Sagehens a 4-1 lead to start set two. The Sagehens kept the pressure on with kills from Gill, Wilson, and Grace Fan and to take a 11-5 lead, forcing the Loggers to talk things over. Out of the break, the Sagehens continued to attack, recording kills from Chen-Mallouk and Hayes while forcing three-straight attack errors on the Loggers to take a 16-6 lead. Pomona-Pitzer's attack didn't stop, utilizing a 9-5 run to close out the set 25-11, including five-straight points with kills from Paige Wilson and Grace Fan. 

In the third set, the two teams went point for point, working their way to a tie six times before Puget Sound broke loose by way of a kill, service ace, and Pomona-Pitzer error, taking a 9-6 lead that forced a Sagehens timeout. The break didn't slow down the Loggers as they went on an 9-3 run, increasing their lead to 18-9 forcing another Pomona-Pitzer timeout. The Loggers continued to swing, earning two kills out of the timeout to make it 20-9. A kill from Laurel Park sparked the Pomona-Pitzer attack as Paige Wilson recorded back-to-back kills with Grace Fan following in pursuit with one of her own, setting the score at 22-14 in favor of Puget Sound. The Sagehens continued to push forward, going on a 6-1 run to pull within three. 

After a quick 3-0 run from the Loggers to start set four, the Sagehens recorded nine straight points, picking up kills from Naomi Chen-Mallouk, Chloe Gill, and Kellan Hayes to take a 9-3 lead. The lead continued to grow as Chloe Gill, Chloe Kerstein, Paige Wilson, Grace Fan, Naomi Chen-Mallouk all picked up kills to make it 17-12 in favor of the Sagehens. The Loggers pulled within three at 19-16 but back-to-back errors gave Pomona-Pitzer a 21-16 lead. Puget Sound pushed back again, pulling within three once more at 21-18 but the Sagehens utilized kills from Paige Wilson and Grace Fan, as well as an attack error on the Loggers to win the set 25-19, giving them the 3-1 victory over Puget Sound.

Game Two – Pomona-Pitzer 3, Whitworth 1

The Sagehens started set one of the match with a 9-3 run with Chloe Gill, Laurel Park, and Paige Wilson recording kills. The Pirates responded with a 4-1 run to make it 10-7 but Pomona-Pitzer continued to charge forward to a 16-10 lead. Whitworth five-straight points to slow down the Sagehens, setting the score at 16-15. The Sagehens utilized kills from Kellan Hayes and Laurel Park, as well as service aces from Cameron Hodges and Hayes to take a 22-17 lead. Whitworth answered back with a 4-0 run to pull within one at 22-21, forcing a Sagehen timeout. Out of the break, the Sagehens earned two points off errors on Whitworth before Grace Fan earned a kill to end the set 25-23.

Set two started with a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, working to a 4-4 tie before the Sagehens went on a 6-1 run to take a 10-5 lead. Despite the strong run from Pomona-Pitzer, Whitworth was able to battle back after taking a timeout, responding with a 10-5 run to tie the contest at 15-15. Kellan Hayes broke the tie with a kill and an ace with Laurel Park also working on the attack, giving the Sagehens a 19-16 lead. Down the stretch, Pomona-Pitzer recorded kills from Grace Fan and Chloe Gill along with a block from Kellan Hayes and Gill to end the set 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead.

Pomona-Pitzer trailed for much of the third set, falling behind 2-0 in the early going then battling close behind for much of the game. The Sagehens earned a brief lead at 5-4 but Whitworth was able to push to a 13-9 advantage. Naomi Chen-Mallouk and Chloe Gill both recorded kills to bring Pomona-Pitzer within two at 14-12 but Whitworth continued to pull away, working to a 17-13 lead. After back-to-back errors and a kill from Paige Wilson, the Sagehens were back within one, trailing 17-16, forcing the Pirates to talk things over. Out of the break, Whitworth went on a 4-1 run to take a 22-17 lead but the Sagehens forced three errors, pulling within two at 22-20, forcing another Whitworth timeout. The timeout proved effective as Whitworth held off the Sagehens late push, taking the set 25-20. 

The Sagehens got off to a good start with a 4-1 run in the fourth set but a 7-0 charge from the Pirates would force a Pomona-Pitzer timeout, trailing 8-4. Chloe Kerstein came through with a kill right out of the break, but the Pirates continued to lead, pushing to a 13-9 lead. The two teams traded points for seven consecutive points before the Sagehens were able to record back-to-back points with a kill from Paige Wilson and an error on the Pirates, leaving the Sagehens behind 16-14. Pomona-Pitzer pulled within one after a kill from Wilson and one from Grace Fan, setting the score at 17-16. Whitworth recorded two quick points, but the Sagehens responded with a 3-0 run with a kill from Chen-Mallouk and two blocks from her and Grace Fan, tying the game at 19-19, forcing the Pirates to talk things over. Out of the break, Chloe Gill earned a kill to give the Sagehens a 20-19 lead, their first lead since being up 4-1 at the start of the set. Following Gill's kill, the Sagehens earned two more points to take a 22-19 lead, but Whitworth pulled within one at 22-21 after a kill and Pomona-Pitzer error. A Pirates error would push the Sagehens lead to 23-21 but a kill and service ace from Whitworth tied things at 23-23, forcing Pomona-Pitzer to call a timeout. The timeout was perfect for the Sagehens as Chloe Gill came out swinging for a kill, sending Isabelle Alduino the service line. Alduino promptly recorded an ace to end the match in style, taking the set 25-23 to defeat the Pirates 3-1. 

What's Up Next

The Sagehens will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 11:00 a.m. when they take on the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs.