PASADENA, Calif. (Oct. 23, 2021) – With a 3-0 sweep over the visiting Whittier College Poets on Saturday afternoon, the Caltech Beavers women's volleyball program reached a milestone of significance with a season-record fifth conference victory.

 

Having competed at the varsity level in women's volleyball since 1989, and having joined the SCIAC in 2000, it has been an arduous journey for the program. In fact, it took until late October 2017 for the Beavers to claim their first-ever SCIAC win with a 3-2 victory over the University of Redlands. With four conference wins in 2019, the program was trending positively, but few could have expected the team to have already achieved a new record of five conference wins with two chances to add to the total - especially after a full year layoff due to the worldwide pandemic.

 

Yet the 2021 Beavers have collectively decided to take the program's game and level to new heights. With the record already secured and a valiant late-season push toward the top four places in the standings and ensuing SCIAC Postseason Tournament berth, Head Coach Tom Gardner's squad will forever be remembered as the program that reached a new measure of success and expectation for future Beaver teams.

 

Versus Whittier, senior Alison Noyes (Falmouth, Maine / Falmouth) led the Beavers with 10 thunderous kills on 15 swings. Her effort was complemented by fellow middle blocker junior Dallas Taylor (Phoenix, Ariz, / Saguaro), who also scored on several emphatic shots that found the floor. Each player scored 10.5 points for the Beavers on the afternoon.

 

Anchoring the back row was senior Megan Wang (Henderson, Nev. / Advanced Technologies Academy), whose 19 digs more than doubled the output of any other Beaver defensive player. The offensive attack was managed by sophomore setter Halle Blend (Farmers Branch, Texas / Hockaday) who, in addition to distributing 31 assists, had six kills in the match. Her understanding of whom to set, as well as when to call her own number, has had a significant impact on the Beavers' success in 2021.

 

Looking to build off their record-setting effort and finish the season strong, the Beavers, who have won four out of their last six conference matches, only have two remaining in the regular season. Next up for Caltech is an away match at the University of La Verne Leopards on Tuesday, Oct. 26. The Beavers are looking to reverse their prior result against ULV, having lost to the Leopards at home, 3-2, earlier in the month.

 

The team will close out its 2021 regular season on Senior Night, Friday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. inside Braun Gymnasium hosting the California Lutheran University Regals. Currently sitting in sixth place in the conference, the Caltech squad, already besting the highest-ever previous finish of eighth, will honor seniors Isabell Yang (Arcadia, Calif. / Arcadia), Sydney Richardson (Granite Bay, Calif. / Roseville), Wang and Noyes both for their roles on this wildly successful team and the impact their collective presence will carry with the team in years beyond.

 

"I am very proud of this team and the resiliency that they've demonstrated all season," Gardner said. "We still have some exciting volleyball in front of us this coming week. I'm looking forward to the potential of where we currently are as well as where we are headed as a program."