THOUSAND OAKS, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team made history on Thursday night as they traveled to California Lutheran University for the 2022 SCIAC Postseason Tournament Semifinal and earned a 3-1 (25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 25-14) victory for their first conference tournament win in program history. The Sagehens were lethal on the attack as they swung .542 and .448 in sets three and four with a .278 average on the night. Paige Wilson was the standout performer for Pomona-Pitzer as she recorded 12 kills with no errors, 14 digs, and a .444 hitting percentage. The Sagehens also had 10 kills from Chloe Gill, eight from Grace Fan, and seven from both Kellan Hayes and Paige Mountanos. Kylie Mies and Eleanor Nicholson dished out the assists for the Sagehens with Mies recording 20 while Nicholson ended the night with a nearly even 18. Nicholson also recorded 14 digs while Lauren Asato recorded 11 of her own. With the win, the Sagehens advance to the 2022 SCIAC Postseason Championship and will faceoff with Sixth Street Rival CMS. The Sagehens are just one of four teams to take a set off the No. 1 Athenas this season and will look to improve on that as they battle for the Championship on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

The Regals had the early edge as they recorded a service ace to start the night before taking a 6-3 lead. The Sagehens quickly responded with a 6-1 run with blocks from Chloe Gill, Grace Fan, Laurel Park, and Kellan Hayes to take the lead at 9-7. The Regals were quick to regain the lead at 10-9 but the Sagehens countered with a 9-3 run to take the lead at 18-13 with kills from Paige Wilson and a service ace from Eleanor Nicholson. The Regals were able to cut the lead to 18-15 but the Sagehens stormed to the finish in set one with a 7-1 run to take the set 25-16 with kills from Chloe Gill, Laurel Park, and Paige Wilson. 

Cal Lutheran took an early 5-1 lead in set two, but the Sagehens pulled within one at 7-6 and later 11-10 to keep it a close battle between the two teams. The Regals were able to make a mid-set surge with a 5-0 run, taking the lead at 16-10 but the Sagehens responded once more with a 6-2 run, cutting the lead to 18-16. From there, the Regals were able to build momentum and take set two 25-18 with a 7-2 run. 

For a moment, set three seemed to favor the Regals in the early stages of action as Cal Lutheran ran out to a 7-1 run but Pomona-Pitzer had other plans as they overpowered the Regals with a 13-3 run to take the lead at 14-10 and force a Cal Lutheran timeout. The run was fueled by kills from Fan, Park, Wilson, Gill, and Hayes. Out of the timeout, the Regals took the next three points, but the Sagehens continued to push forward as Gill, Hayes, Paige Mountanos, and Wilson all recorded kills to extend the Sagehen lead to 21-17 and force another Regals timeout. Cal Lutheran tried to mount a comeback with a 4-1 run, but their efforts fell short as Pomona-Pitzer made a 3-0 run to win set three 25-21. 

The Regals took the first two points of set four, but the Sagehens made a 7-2 run with kills from Wilson, Mountanos, and Hayes to take the lead at 7-4. Despite being on the road, Pomona-Pitzer seemed more than comfortable on the Regals court as they charged forward with an 11-6 run, forcing the Regals to use both their timeouts with the Sagehens leading 18-10. From there, the Sagehens wouldn't be denied the victory as they ended the match on a 7-4 run that saw kills from Mountanos, Wilson, and Fan, including the set winning kill from Fan. The Grace Fan match-winning kill ended the set 25-14 as the Sagehens took down the Cal Lutheran Regals 3-1 in the SCIAC Semifinal match.