SAN ANTONIO, Tx. – The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team fell just short of the reverse sweep against the Franklin and Marshall Diplomats on Saturday afternoon, falling in five sets to F&M 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 8-25, 15-13) to wrap up their Texas road trip at the Trinity Fall Classic.
 
How It Happened
The first set saw the Diplomats take an early 7-3 lead before extending their gap to 17-11, forcing a Sagehen timeout. Pomona-Pitzer stormed back into the set, going on a 9-3 run with kills from Paige Wilson, Kellan Hayes, Samantha Grabb, and Chloe Gill to tie the contest at 20-20. The two teams traded attacks to get to 22-22 but F&M scored the last three to take set one 25-22. 
 
The Diplomats fell behind 6-2 early in set two thanks to a service ace from Hanna Chen along with kills from Charlotte Sekerka and Paige Mountanos. The Sagehens held onto their lead briefly, working to an 11-11 tie before the Diplomats battled back to take a 16-13 lead and force a Pomona-Pitzer timeout. The Sagehens rallied back once again, going on a 7-4 run with kills from Wilson, Hayes, and Grabb to tie the game at 20-20. The Diplomats were able to make a 5-0 run to take set two 25-20, putting the Sagehens down 2-0. 
 
The Sagehens got off to a blistering start in set three, taking an 8-3 lead after scoring the first five points of the game with kills from Mountanos and Wilson. Pomona-Pitzer continued to pour it on, extending their lead to 14-8. The Diplomats managed to claw back into the set, pulling withing one at 14-13 after a 5-0 run. Pomona-Pitzer regrouped and pushed their lead to 18-14 but F&M stayed close, pulling within two at 21-19 to force a Sagehen timeout. Pomona-Pitzer made their way to set point at 24-20 with a kill from Sekerka but F&M scored two to make it 24-22 and force the Sagehens to talk things over. Out of the break, the Paige Mountanos recorded a kill to take set three 25-22. 
 
The Diplomats struck first in set four, but it was Pomona-Pitzer who was dominant in this game as the Sagehens took a 7-3 lead before going on an 7-2 run to take the lead at 14-5 and force and F&M timeout. Out of the break, the Sagehens continued to rip through the Diplomats, charging forward with kills from Paige Mountanos, Anna Krebs, and Charlotte Sekerka to extend their lead to 20-8. The Sagehens didn't slow down, recording the final five points to win set four 25-8 to force a fifth set against the Diplomats. 
 
The Sagehens struck first in set five with a kill from Paige Wilson, sparking a 7-3 run to put the pressure on the Diplomats. A Sagehen error brought the run to an end briefly, but the Diplomats returned the favor with a service error of their own, bringing the Sagehens to an 8-4 lead in the final set. The two teams traded attacks briefly but back to back kills from Paige Mountanos gave the Sagehens a 12-7 lead, forcing the Diplomats to call a timeout hoping to avoid the reverse sweep. F&M put the pressure on the Sagehens out of the break, forcing an error while recording a kill and an ace to go on a 3-0 run to force the Sagehens to talk things over with a 12-10 lead. Out of the break, F&M recorded a service error, giving Pomona-Pitzer a 13-10 lead but the Diplomats quickly closed the gap, tying the contest at 13-13, forcing another Sagehen timeout. The Diplomats managed to earn the final two points and steal the match 3-2 with a 15-13 win in the fifth set.