THOUSAND OAKS, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team suffered a hard-fought five-set match to Cal Lutheran (24-26, 21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-12). Paige Mountanos led the team with 13 kills while Chloe Gill (12) and Paige Wilson (11) both ended the night with double-digit kills as well. Kylie Mies had a huge night as the Sagehens top setter with 25 assists and 16 digs while Eleanor Nicholson dished out 14 of her own. Lauren Asato anchored the defense with 19 digs while Grace Fan assisted on six blocks. The Sagehens also had a strong night at the service line as Kellan Hayes recorded a team-high five service aces while Hanna Chen and Paige Wilson both recorded three of their own. With the loss, the Sagehens are now 14-7 overall and 9-4 in the conference with their next match tomorrow evening at 4:00 p.m. against Sixth Street Rival CMS in Voelkel Gymnasium. 

Set one featured a fast start by the Sagehens with a 5-2 run that saw kills from Paige Mountanos, Kellan Hayes, and Paige Wilson. The Sagehens used kills from Wilson and Grace Fan to extend their lead to 7-4 but the Regals quickly countered with a 6-3 run to tie the game at 10-10 before earning a slight 13-12 lead. Pomona-Pitzer was able to regroup with a 4-0 run, forcing three Regals errors while Fan picked up a kill to take the lead at 16-13. The Regals returned the 4-0 run to regain the lead at 17-16 but the Sagehens surged again, this time taking five of the next six points to take the lead at 21-18 and force a Regals timeout. Out of the break, the Regals rallied back with a 5-2 run to tie the game at 23-23 and force the Sagehens to call a timeout. The Regals benefited from a Sagehen attacking error to take the lead at 24-23 but Pomona-Pitzer called their second timeout to regroup once more. From there, the Sagehens ended things in a hurry with a 3-0 run to a 26-24 set one victory with a kill from Mountanos and block from Fan and Wilson. The Sagehens also forced an attacking error from the Regals for the final point of the set. 

The Sagehens controlled the pace of set two as they lead from start to finish in the set. They started things off with a 4-0 run after a Kylie Mies ace mixed with three attacking errors. The Regals tried to overcome the deficit with a 5-3 run, but the Sagehens pushed their lead up to 11-6 after Laurel Park and Grace Fan both recorded kills while Eleanor Nicholson dished out a service ace, forcing a Cal Lutheran timeout. Out of the break, the Regals took the next three points before the two teams traded points for six-straight rallies with the Sagehens holding a slight 14-12 edge. Paige Wilson recorded a kill before her and Fan, as well as Mountanos all recorded blocks to extend the Sagehens lead to 17-12 and force another Regals timeout. The break was useful as the Regals went on a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 19-18. Pomona-Pitzer was able to counter with a 3-1 lead, taking them to a 22-19 advantage but the Regals cut it to 22-21, resulting in a Sagehen timeout. Out of the break, the Sagehens saw a kill from Paige Mountanos followed by a Hanna Chen service ace and Regals error to win set two 25-21. 

The roles were switched in set three as the Regals jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Sagehens stormed back with a 7-1 run to take a 7-5 lead with kills from Mountanos and Fan along with an ace from Hanna Chen. The Regals responded with a nearly identical run (6-1) of their own to take the lead at 11-8 and force a Sagehen timeout. Cal Lutheran continued to attack, this time going on a 7-2 run to push their lead to 18-10, resulting in another Sagehen timeout. The Regals initially had the advantage out of the break as they went on a 3-1 run, but the Sagehens countered with a 6-1 run with kills from Chloe Gill and Paige Mountanos along with an ace from Kellan Hayes, cutting the lead to 22-17 to force a Regals timeout. The Sagehens took the next two points out of the break with a Regals attack error and Hayes service ace, but the Regals ended the set on a 3-1 run to earn a 25-20 set three victory. 

The Regals started set four on another 4-0 run, but the Sagehens answered with a 10-3 run that saw kills from Chloe Gill, Paige Mountanos, Paige Wilson, and Laurel Park. Cal Lutheran quickly responded with six-straight points that was a part of a 13-3 run, giving them a convincing 20-13 lead to force a Sagehen timeout. Pomona-Pitzer was able to go on a 5-1 run out of the break, cutting the Regals lead to 21-18 while forcing them to call a timeout of their own. Out of the break, the Regals took set four 25-18 with a 4-0 run, forcing a decisive fifth set. 

With the game proving to be a battle of two great teams, the Regals and Sagehens took the battle to the fifth set. Chloe Gill and Paige Wilson both recorded a kill to put the Sagehens up 2-1 in the early going. The Regals took the next two points, but the Sagehens followed in pursuit with two of their own to regain the lead at 4-3. The Regals briefly tied the game at 4-4 but Wilson and Gill both recorded kills once again to regain the lead at 6-4. From there, the Regals went on a 4-1 run to be the first time to eight points at 8-7. Kellan Hayes knotted the game at 8-8 with a kill but the Regals responded with a kill of their own followed by a block to take a 10-8 lead and force a Sagehen timeout. Out of the break, the Regals continued to charge forward as they took three-straight points to extend their lead to 13-8 and force the Sagehens to call their second timeout. Out of the break, the Sagehens rallied with a 3-1 run with Paige Mountanos highlighting the efforts with a timeout forcing kill as the Sagehens closed the deficit to 14-11. Out of the Regals timeout, Kellan Hayes recorded a service ace to cut the lead to 14-12 but the Regals recorded the final kill to win the fifth set 15-12 in a Friday night marathon match.