CLAREMONT, CA. – The Pomona-Pitzer Women's Volleyball team started off their 2024 season with a pair of 3-0 wins over Muhlenberg College and Skidmore College on Friday afternoon at Voelkel Gymnasium.

The Sagehens start the year 2-0 for the first time since 2019 with back-to-back wins in the Pacific Coast Classic thanks in part to outside hitters Paige Mountanos and Chloe Gill who led the Sagehens with 28 and 18 kills, respectively.

Pomona-Pitzer got the day started with a 3-0 win over Muhlenberg. The Sagehen defense kept the Mules to under 20 points in each of the three sets with Mountanos helping out on both sides of the net with a team-high 14 kills and five blocks. Jenny Jenks led the team in assists for her Sagehen debut with 28 while Corrina Benson tallied 16 digs as the libero.

The Sagehens had to come from behind in the first set as it took them half a game to find their rhythm to start the season.  Trailing 12-7 in the first set, Pomona-Pitzer battled back and took the lead at 16-15 after an 8-3 run capped off with a kill by Jenks. Muhlenberg went on to reclaim the lead at 19-16, but the Sagehens rallied again and came away with nine-straight points to end the first set 25-19.

A different story in set two as the Sagehens kept their momentum and flew out to a 10-2 lead. Pomona-Pitzer kept its distance with a dominant display to take a 2-0 lead holding Muhlenberg to just 11 points in a 25-11 set-win.

Another early lead for the Sagehens in the final set looking to start 2024 with a sweep at home. Starting off with an 8-4 lead, the Sagehens stayed on top the entire set and extended their advantage to 17-10 after a kill by Mountanos. Muhlenberg made a slight run towards the end of the match with three consecutive points, but the Sagehens were too strong for the Mules and opened 2024 with a three-set win.
 
Pomona-Pitzer vs Skidmore

Another strong performance for Pomona-Pitzer in game two of their doubleheader in the Pacific Coast Classic against Skidmore. The Sagehens won all three set with a margin of victory of at least eight and even went on to win set three with a 20-point gap between the two teams.  Mountanos led the scoring with 14 kills while Kellan Hayes established her presence on the net with five blocks. Jenks came away with 29 assists and also five service aces against the thoroughbreds while Benson led the squad in digs with nine.

Skidmore kept it close in the first set and even held a lead at 12-11 before the Sagehens took over the game and never looked back. Gill got the Sagehens over the hump with a kill to make it 13-12 while Skidmore hung around until Pomona-Pitzer scored eight of the final nine points to take set one 25-17.

The Sagehens turned it on in sets two and three to send the Thoroughbreds home quickly after a string of 11-straight points put Pomona-Pitzer up 17-5. The Sagehens slowed down a bit towards the end of the set but still came away with a big win in set two, 25-13.

After winning set two in dominant fashion, the Sagehens continued overwhelm Skidmore with a 13-3 run to open the set. The Sagehens went on to score 18 of the final 20 points of the match as they completed back-to-back sweeps to open the season in the Pacific Coast Classic.

Up Next: The Sagehens will next host Centre and UW River Falls on Saturday, August 31^st at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m.