LA VERNE, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team took home the win against the La Verne Leopards after winning a long five-set (21-25, 25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12) battle on the road. Chloe Gill was the standout attacker for the Sagehens with 19 kills and a .333 clip while Kylie Mies dished out 21 assists and 17 digs. With the win, the Sagehens are now 4-1 in the conference and 9-4 overall. Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Oct. 4 when they travel to Redlands at 7:00 p.m.

La Verne set the tone of the first set early, starting the match with five unanswered points to force a Sagehen timeout. The Leopards went on a 5-3 run out of the break to take a 10-3 lead, putting the Sagehens in an early hole. The two teams traded points with Chloe Gill and Grace Fan leading the attack for Pomona-Pitzer, but the Sagehens still found themselves down 17-10. The Leopards recorded a kill and service ace to extend the lead to 19-10 to force the Sagehens to take their second timeout of the set. Out of the break, the Sagehens picked up steam with a 6-2 run with kills from Paige Mountanos and Paige Wilson, cutting the deficit to 21-16 to force a La Verne timeout. The Leopards took the next two points, but the Sagehens made another surge with a 5-1 run. The run saw kills from Laurel Park and Gill, cutting the lead to 24-21 but La Verne earned the final kill to take the set 25-21.

In set two, the tides were turned as the Sagehens took the early lead with a 10-4 opening run led by Paige Mountanos and Chloe Gill. Pomona-Pitzer continued to stretch their lead, using blocks from Chloe Gill, Kellan Hayes, and Laurel Park to make it 14-6. The Leopards responded with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 14-11 and later brought it within two at 17-15. From there, the Sagehens charged forward, taking eight of the next 11 points with kills from Paige Wilson, Grace Fan, and Laurel Park to win set two 25-18. 

The opening portion of set three was much closer than the previous two sets as the teams worked to a 3-3 tie before the Sagehens took a slight 5-3 advantage. The Sagehens continued to build a bigger lead with Gill, Mountanos, Wilson, and Park all recorded kills to take a 15-11 advantage and force a Leopards timeout. Pomona-Pitzer came out of the break swinging as Laurel Park recorded the first two kills before Gill, Mountanos, Hayes, and Wilson all chimed in to push the lead to 23-16 and force another La Verne timeout. Out of the break, La Verne recorded a kill, but a Grace Fan kill and block from Kylie Mies and Fan ended the set 25-17, giving the Sagehens a 25-17.  

La Verne took an early 5-2 lead in set four, but the Sagehens brought things to a tie with a 5-2 run of their own with a kill from Wilson and one from Gill along with three La Verne errors. The Leopards shot out to a 14-7 lead after scoring seven-straight points. La Verne continued to extend their lead, capping off the surge with a service ace to make it 18-11 and force a Sagehen timeout. Out of the break, the Sagehens but the Leopards on their heels with a 9-3 run that saw kills from Fan, Gill, and Park along with blocks from Hayes, Park, and Fan. The Leopards were able to score the next two and take a 23-20 lead before the Sagehens brought things back with a 3-1 run. Unfortunately, the Leopards were able to strike the last kill to take the set 25-23 and force a decisive fifth set. 

La Verne started set five with a service error, giving the Sagehens the 1-0 lead. The Sagehens proceed to work their way to a 5-3 lead with kills from Gill and Mountanos along with a block from Grace Fan and Laurel Park. The Leopards tied the game at 5-5 with a kill and service ace but gave the Sagehens another free point with an attacking error, making it 6-5 in favor of Pomona-Pitzer. The Leopards fought back to tie the game at 8-8- but attack error and Paige Wilson kill put the Sagehens up 10-8, forcing a La Verne timeout. Out of the break, the Leopards went on a 4-2 run to tie the game at 12-12 to force a Pomona-Pitzer timeout. Out of the timeout, the Sagehens took the next three points with Wilson and Kill both getting a kill before a La Verne ball handling error ended the game 15-12, giving the Sagehens the 3-2 victory.