PASADENA, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team defeated Caltech 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-14, 25-21) on Friday night. The Sagehens had three attackers record double-digit kills with Paige Mountanos leading the way with 11 while Grace Fan and Chloe Gill both ended the night with 10. Fan led the team with a .529 hitting percentage. Lauren Asato anchored the defense with 15 digs while Paige Wilson recorded 12 of her own. Eleanor Nicholson recorded 22 assists and picked up 11 digs while Kylie Mies dished out 20 assists and ended the night with five digs. The Sagehens will continue their conference road matches with a game at Whittier on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 7:00 p.m.

Ella Gardner recorded the first kill of the night, sparking a 6-2 run from the Sagehens with Paige Mountanos, Paige Wilson, and Laurel Park all recording kills as well. The Beavers called a timeout to slow the run and took a 5-4 edge out of the break, pulling within three at 10-7 before tying the set at 10-10 with a quick 3-0 run. The Beavers took a 15-12 run with a 5-2 run, but the Sagehens fired back with a 7-1 run to take the lead at 19-16. Caltech was able to pull within one at 20-19 but the Sagehens scored four-straight points to make it 24-19, utilizing blocks from Ella Gardner, Paige Mountanos, and Laurel Park to lead the run. The Beavers were able to score two more points, but a Mountanos kill ended the set 25-21 in favor of the Sagehens. 

Pomona-Pitzer started set two on a 5-1 run with three kills from Mountanos followed by two Caltech errors. Caltech regrouped and made a 4-0 run to tie the set at 5-5. The two teams traded attacks back and forth, tying the game on four more occasions before the Sagehens went on a 5-1 run to take a 16-14 lead with kills from Mountanos and Gardner along with a block from Chloe Gill and Gardner. Down the stretch, the Beavers outscored the Sagehens 9-3 to take set two 25-19. 

The Sagehens started set three on the right side of a 7-4 run thanks to kills from Ella Gardner, Grace Fan, and Paige Mountanos. The Sagehens also picked up a block from Laurel Park and Grace Fan in that run. The Beavers were able to tie the game at 7-7 but Pomona-Pitzer responded with a 5-1 run to take the lead at 12-8. Caltech made a small push, pulling within two at 12-10 but a 6-2 run from the Sagehens forced a Caltech timeout trailing 18-12. Out of the break, the Beavers earned two of the next three points, but the Sagehens ran to the finish with six-straight points, including kills from Park and Gardner, taking set three 25-14. 

The Sagehens and Beavers went back and forth in the early going of set four, coming to a tie eight times before the Beavers could take a 10-8 lead with a 3-0 run. Pomona-Pitzer responded with a 4-0 run with two service aces from Chloe Gill as well as a Gill kill and a Paige Wilson and Ella Gardner block. The Sagehens continued to extend their lead to 18-12 with a 6-2 lead that saw kills from Paige Mountanos and Laurel Park along with blocks from Gardner, Park, and Fan. The Beavers responded with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 18-15 and force a Pomona-Pitzer timeout. Out of the break, the Sagehens went on a 4-1 lead to force a Beavers timeout with a 21-17 lead. The Beavers took a 4-3 edge over the Sagehens out of the break, but Paige Wilson delivered the final kill of the match to give the Sagehens the 25-21 set four victory and 3-1 victory overall.