CLAREMONT, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team fell to the No. 1 CMS Athenas 3-1 (20-25, 25-10, 25-19, 25-17) in the Sixth Street Rivalry. The Sagehens played a phenomenal first set, hitting .321 and leading from start to finish. The first set victory marks just the fourth time this season the CMS Athenas have dropped a set in their 23 games. The Sagehens attack was led by Paige Wilson who recorded 10 kills with a .250 hitting percentage while picking up 12 digs to lead the defense as well. Kylie Mies and Eleanor Nicholson split time as setter with Mies dishing out 17 assists while Nicholson tallied 14 total. Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Chapman at 7:00 p.m.

The Athenas fell into an early hole against rival Pomona-Pitzer after starting the game off with a service error. The Sagehens quickly took advantage and made a 6-1 run with kills from Paige Mountanos and Paige Wilson along with a Grace Fan solo block and two Kellan Hayes service aces. CMS was able to outscore the Sagehens 6-3 to close the gap to 10-7 but the Sagehens responded with a slight 7-4 run with kills from Fan, Hayes, and Chloe Gill to extend their lead to 17-11. The Athenas took the next two points, but a Paige Wilson kill followed by a CMS set error gave Pomona-Pitzer a 19-13 lead, forcing a CMS timeout. Out of the break, Eleanor Nicholson recorded a service ace, but CMS fired back with a quick 3-0 run, cutting the Sagehen lead to 20-16. From there, the two rivals went point for point down the stretch, but the early lead built by the Sagehens helped get the job done in the end as Paige Wilson recorded the final kill of the set, giving Pomona-Pitzer the 25-20 victory in set one. 

The Athenas came back swinging in set two as they quickly shot out to an 8-3 lead before extending it to a 10-5 lead moments later. The Sagehens were able to grab three-straight points with a kill from Chloe Gill, Kellan Hayes, as well as a solo block from Gill but the Athenas surged forward with three-straight points to force a Sagehen timeout, trailing 13-8. Out of the break, the Athenas made a blistering run to the finish, ending the set on a 12-2 run to take set two 25-10. 

In set three, the two teams went back and forth in the early going with the Sagehens holding a slight 4-3 lead thanks to another Wilson kill but CMS answered with a 5-0 run to regain the lead at 8-4. The Sagehens quickly countered with a 5-1 run to bring the game to a 9-9 tie, but CMS took eight of the next 12 points to take the lead at 17-13 and force the Sagehens to talk things over. Paige Wilson recorded a kill right out of the timeout, but CMS held an 8-5 advantage late in the set to win it 25-19. 

CMS started set four on a 7-2 run that was answered with a 6-2 run from the Sagehens, cutting the Athenas lead to 9-8 as Paige Wilson and Chloe Gill both recorded kills with Lauren Asato recording a service ace. The Athenas refused to slow down as they extended their lead to 15-11 with a 6-3 run, forcing a Sagehen timeout. CMS continued to push forward with a 4-1 run out of the break but the Sagehens responded with a 5-2 run to cut the lead to 21-17. The Athenas were able to make a 4-0 run, carrying momentum through a Sagehen timeout, taking the fourth set 25-17 to defeat the Sagehens 3-1.