CLAREMONT, CA. — Pomona-Pitzer volleyball outlasted Redlands in a five-set thriller (25-22, 19-25, 16-25, 25-23, 18-16) Tuesday night at Voelkel Gymnasium.
 
Season Impact: The win improves the Sagehens' record to 11-7 overall, including 6-2 in SCIAC play. 
 
Samantha Grabb and Chloe Gill paced Pomona-Pitzer with 15 kills apiece, while Grabb added five digs and four blocks. Paige Mountanos posted 14 kills and six digs while Corrina Benson had 23 digs. 
 
Teams traded points to start the match, with kills from Grabb and Gill tying the first set at 13. The Bulldogs went on to score four unanswered, but a pair of aces from Grabb tied the set back up at 17. A kill from Mountanos and a Bulldog attack error gave the Sagehens a 23-20 lead late, before another kill from Grabb sealed the 25-22 set-one win for Pomona-Pitzer. 
 
Set two started back and forth, as another pair of Gill kills brought the Sagehens within one, 15-14. A Mountanos kill later fueled a 3-0 Pomona-Pitzer run to tie things up at 19-19. But Redlands finished strong, scoring the final six points of the set to take it, 25-19. 
 
Both teams again remained even early in the third set, as Gill posted another kill and the set stayed tied at 11. Mountanos notched two more kills, but the Bulldogs took a 19-16 lead late. Redlands again scored the final six points of the set, winning it 25-16. 
 
Facing a must-win set, Grabb and Kellan Hayes traded kills in the fourth frame to put the Sagehens up two, 10-8. The Bulldogs, though, scored four unanswered later to go up 18-15. But Pomona-Pitzer answered with a 6-0 run to take a 21-18 advantage. Grabb posted two more kills late to finish off the set-four win, 25-23, and force a fifth set. 
 
Redlands took a 7-5 advantage early in the final set before kills from Ella Mesard and Makeila Cervantes put the Sagehens up 9-5. A Bulldogs service error later put Pomona-Pitzer up three, 13-10. But Redlands proceeded to score four straight points, pushing the set to match point, 14-13. The Sagehens refused to give up, though, as kills from Grabb and Gill gave Pomona-Pitzer a 15-14 advantage. After trading points, kills from Hayes and Cervantes sealed the set-five win, 18-16, and the match win for the Sagehens. 
 
Up Next: Pomona-Pitzer returns to action next Tuesday, Oct. 22, when they take on Occidental on the road.