CLAREMONT, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team fell to the CMS Athenas 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-17) on Saturday afternoon. The Sagehens swung at a .183 clip with Paige Mountanos recording eight kills on the day. Savanna Cespedes dished out 11 assists while Corrina Benson picked up 10 digs. The Sagehens will be back in action on Oct. 24 when they host the Redlands Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The Sagehens fell behind early as CMS started set one on a 6-1 run to force a Sagehen timeout. The Athenas extended their lead to 12-3 but a 7-3 run from the Sagehens cut the deficit to 15-10. Pomona-Pitzer pulled within four points at 17-13 with kills from Chloe Gill and Paige Mountanos as well as a service ace from Kellan Hayes but CMS answered with a 4-0 to go up 21-13. CMS outscored the Sagehens 4-3 down the stretch to take set one 25-16.
 
The Athenas took a 5-2 lead to start the second set, but the Sagehens stayed close as Chloe Gill and Samantha Grabb both recorded kills to cut the lead to 5-4. The two teams continued to trade attacks with the Sagehens making a small run to cut the CMS lead, to 13-11 but a 5-0 Athena run pushed the CMS lead, to 18-14. The Sagehens continued to battle, using a 5-3 run to cut the deficit to 21-16 but the Athenas answered back with a 4-1 run to take set two 25-17. 
 
The Sagehens briefly flipped the tide in set three, taking a 6-3 lead with a 5-0 run with kills from Gill, Hayes, and Mountanos. CMS was quick to respond, scoring nine unanswered points to regain the lead at 12-6. The Sagehens responded with a 5-1 run with kills from Mountanos, Hayes, and Grabb to cut the CMS lead to 13-11. A 6-1 run from the Athenas extended their lead to 19-12, forcing the Sagehens to call a timeout. The Sagehens were narrowly outscored 6-5 down the stretch but the six points gave the Athenas a 25-17 victory in set three to cap off the 3-0 victory over Pomona-Pitzer.