REDLANDS, Calif. (Oct. 12, 2021) – Caltech volleyball re-asserted its clear edge over the University of Redlands with another 3-0 victory on Tuesday night in a rematch that echoed the SCIAC foes' first meeting of the year.

From the opening serve, Caltech took control and kept its composure to finish strongly, completing the second season sweep of a SCIAC opponent in program history after 2019's dual victories over Occidental College.

Caltech never trailed in the opening set, launching ahead to a 7-1 lead before Redlands could score on consecutive rallies. The lead ballooned to 19-9 en route to the Beavers winning the set 25-18.  In the set, sophomore setter Halle Blend (Farmers Branch, Texas / Hockaday) put up 12 assists on the way to an impressive 32 in the match. She currently leads the conference in assists per set (8.60) and notched a brilliant eight kills on 10 attacks with no errors, for a laser-accurate .800 hitting percentage on the night.

Redlands fought harder early in the second set and the match seemed to tighten up as neither team could pull ahead until the score was tied for the ninth time at 15-15, when Caltech earned a sideout point by virtue of a Redlands error. Then, it was time for sophomore defensive specialist Angel Wang (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Pine Creek) to serve, with her two aces helping propel Caltech to finish the set with a crushing 11-0 run to win, 25-15.

Finally, the Beavers closed out the match with another late surge in the final set. Some back-and-forth play saw Caltech come back to tie the score four times. Then, from the 10-10 tie, Caltech scored on the next six rallies in a row, finishing the match with a 9-1 run for another decisive 25-15 set win.

Senior Alison Noyes (Falmouth, Maine / Falmouth) contributed an outstanding all-around performance as well, hitting .471 for nine kills with two service aces, one solo block and two block assists for a total of 13 individual points. Her .365 season hitting percentage is the third-best in the SCIAC.

Sophomore Claire Perhach (Carlsbad, Calif. / Sage Creek) also tallied 13 points through her 12 kills and two block assists, while sophomore Isabell Yang (Arcadia, Calif. / Arcadia) kept the ball alive with her team-high 15 digs.

Head Coach Tom Gardner and the Beavers will host Occidental College on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.