LA VERNE, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team took down the No. 21 La Verne Leopards 3-1 (20-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-22) for the second time this season. The Sagehens completed the reverse sweep after dropping the first set to advance to 15-10 on the season and 11-3 in conference play.
Chloe Gill and
Paige Wilson both ended the night with 11 kills while
Kellan Hayes recorded seven kills with one solo block while assisting one nine.
Kylie Mies and
Eleanor Nicholson were nearly even as setters, dishing out 19 and 18 assists, respectively.
Corrina Benson had a busy night at libero as the first year recorded 27 digs on the night while
Paige Wilson recorded 22 of her own.
Eleanor Nicholson also recorded double-digit digs with 10. The Sagehens will be back in action on Nov. 3 when they travel to Whittier at 7:00 p.m.
How It Happened
Despite having early 3-1 and 5-4 leads, the Sagehens fell behind in set one as La Verne picked up steam with a 9-2 run to take a 13-7 lead and force a Pomona-Pitzer timeout. La Verne continued to push forward, working their way to an 18-10 lead with a short 5-3 run. The Sagehens managed to turn things around with a 10-3 run to cut the La Verne lead, to 21-20 but a 4-0 run from the Leopards ended the set 25-20 in favor of La Verne.
The Sagehens held the early advantage in set two and didn't look back this time. Pomona-Pitzer started the set with a 3-1 run with kills from Hayes, Gill, and
Paige Mountanos before La Verne tied it at 3-3 and 5-5. From there, the Sagehens scored five straight points to take the lead at 10-5 and force a La Verne timeout. Out of the break, La Verne went on a 7-2 run to cut the Sagehen lead to 12-10 but Pomona-Pitzer responded with a 6-2 run with kills from Gill, Mountanos, and
Charlotte Sekerka to extend their lead to 16-12. La Verne managed to cut the Sagehen lead to 18-16 but the Sagehens were able to apply the pressure by extending their lead to 23-18 with kills from
Paige Wilson and
Samantha Grabb to force a Leopards timeout. Out of the break, the Leopards went on a 6-1 run to tie the set at 24-24 but a Hayes kill and La Verne attack error gave the Sagehens a 26-24 set two victory.
After the thrilling set two win, the Sagehens didn't slow down, scoring six straight points to take an early 6-2 lead over the Leopards with kills from Gill, Mountanos, and Hayes along with a
Paige Wilson service ace. La Verne was able to rally back, using a 7-1 run to regain the lead at 9-7 and force a Sagehen timeout. The break was useful as Pomona-Pitzer went on a 10-3 run right out of the timeout to force a La Verne timeout with a 17-12 lead. La Verne quickly countered, tying the contest at 18-18. The Sagehens used a 4-1 run to take the lead at 22-19. La Verne was able to cut the lead to 24-23 but a block from Grabb and Hayes completed the set three win at 25-23.
In set four, the two teams traded 3-0 runs before the Sagehens used kills from Mountanos and Gill to take a slight 5-3 lead. The match stayed close with La Verne pulling within one point at 9-8 but a 6-1 run put Pomona-Pitzer up 15-9, forcing the Leopards to call a timeout. La Verne made another late run to cut the Sagehen lead to 17-15, forcing Pomona-Pitzer to talk things over. La Verne managed to hang around and cut the deficit to one point again, this time at 20-19 and later 23-22. The Sagehens sealed the victory with a block from Hayes and Mountanos followed by an attack error from the Leopards, giving Pomona-Pitzer the 25-22 set win and 3-1 win overall.
