CLAREMONT, Ca. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team defeated the Caltech Beavers 3-1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-19) on Senior Day to cap off the regular season with an overall record of 15-11 with a 12-4 record in SCIAC play. The Sagehens got off to a bit of a slow start against the Beavers but recovered well to complete the reverse sweep.
Paige Wilson and
Paige Mountanos both recorded 12 kills with
Chloe Gill chiming in for 10 with
Eleanor Nicholson and
Kylie Mies recorded 21 and 18 assists on the night. Wilson also did well defensively, earning 18 digs while
Corrina Benson led the team with 23 total. With the victory, the Sagehens secure the No. 3 seed ahead of the 2023 SCIAC Volleyball Tournament and will travel to No. 2 seed La Verne on Nov. 9 at a time TBD.
How It Happened
The Beavers started set one on a 3-0 run and weathered a 5-1 run from the Sagehens before regaining their lead and pushing it to 17-10. Caltech continued to put it together, working to a 20-13 lead and holding off a surge from Pomona-Pitzer to take set one 25-18.
The Sagehens regrouped in between sets and came out swinging in set two, going on a 10-3 run with kills from
Paige Wilson,
Kellan Hayes,
Paige Mountanos, and
Chloe Gill. The Beavers were able to cut the Sagehens lead to 13-9 but an 8-4 run from the Sagehens kept the pressure on with Pomona-Pitzer now holding a 21-13 lead. The Beavers were held to just two more points in the set with the Sagehens scoring four unanswered points to take set two 25-15. Perhaps one of the Sagehens most exciting runs of the night was led by senior
Ella Gardner, who made her first appearance this season, serving for the last three points of the set to aid her teams set victory.
The Sagehens continued to surge past the Beavers after a strong second set, using and 8-4 run to put on the early pressure before extending their lead to 14-6 with a 6-2 run. Caltech only scored seven more points in the set as the Sagehens stormed to the end of set three with kills from Gill, Wilson, and
Tene Ariyo to take the set 25-13.
In the fourth set, the Sagehens continued to drive towards the senior night win, opening the set with a 5-2 run before working to an 11-5 lead. The two teams went back and forth briefly, trading points until the Sagehens scored back to back points at 17-10. Caltech made a short 3-1 run, but the Sagehens charged forward with a 5-1 run to take the lead at 23-14. The Beavers were able to fight back with a 5-1 run of their own to cut the lead to 24-19 but a block from Mountanos and Hayes gave the Sagehens a 25-19 victory and a 3-1 win overall.
