CLAREMONT, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team went to battle with the No. 1 ranked CMS Athenas for the SCIAC Championship but fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19). The Sagehens were led by Chloe Gill with 10 kills while Lauren Asato anchored the defense with 12 digs. Kylie Mies dished out 20 assists while Eleanor Nicholson recorded 13 of her own. With the loss, the Sagehens finish as the SCIAC Runner-Up with an overall record of 17-9 and 11-5 in conference play. Pomona-Pitzer will wait to see if the season alive with the NCAA Division III Volleyball selection show scheduled for Monday at 10:00 PT. 

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In a battle of Sixth Street in a packed Roberts Pavilion at CMS, the Sagehens came out swinging as Paige Mountanos recorded the first kill of the night before the Sagehens extended their lead to 5-2 with two CMS errors and two Grace Fan kills. CMS quickly regrouped to tie the game at 7-7 but the Sagehens responded to hold the edge at 11-9 with kills from Paige Wilson, Mountanos, Fan, and Chloe Gill. The two rivals continued to trade blows with the Sagehens holding the advantage up until the 18-16 mark. Momentum shifted into the Athenas hands with an 8-0 run that survived both Sagehen timeouts, giving CMS a 24-18 lead. The Sagehens recorded a kill and service ace from Kellan Hayes to pull within four, but the Athenas recorded the last kill to take set one 25-20. 

The Sagehens continued to show grit against the No. 1 team in the country as they started set two on a 7-2 run with a Hayes kill and Hannah Chen service ace. CMS responded once again to tie the set at 8-8 but the Sagehens wouldn't give up the lead, forcing numerous attacking errors on the Athenas to take a 13-12 lead. CMS was able to make a 4-0 run to force a Sagehen timeout and take the lead at 16-13. From there, the Sagehens cut the lead to one at 19-18 with kills from Mountanos and Tene Ariyo. Down the stretch, the two teams went point for point with CMS holding the advantage in the long run as they took set two 25-23. 

Pomona-Pitzer remained strong in the early portion of set three as they started on a 5-1 run with a Chloe Gill kill and Paige Mountanos kill. The Athenas were able to respond with a 7-2 run to take the advantage at 8-7. From there, the Sagehens continued to trail but only by one as Ariyo, Gill, Hayes, and Mountanos all recorded kills to keep Pomona-Pitzer in the fight, trailing the Athenas 13-12. CMS quickly regaining momentum in front of a packed crowd with a 9-2 run that put them up 22-14. The Sagehens tried to mount a comeback with a 3-0 run that saw kills from Gill and Ariyo but the Athenas cut the run short and took set three 25-19 with the final kill of the night.