PASADENA, Calif. (Oct. 29, 2022) – Caltech Volleyball wrapped up the 2022 season Saturday afternoon, defeating the Whittier College Poets in a thrilling five-set victory.
Before the match, the team honored their lone senior of the Class of 2023,
Dallas Taylor (Phoenix, Ariz. / Saguaro), who led the team last year in solo blocks with 15, ranks third in program history for most kills in a season, holds the second-highest hitting percentage in a Caltech season, and holds program records for most blocks in a season (66) and career SCIAC wins.
After the pre-match festivities, Caltech conceded the first couple points before surging ahead to an 8-3 lead, drawing a Whittier timeout after a six-point run that included two service aces by junior
Gabriella Twombly (Weston, Fla. / Archbishop McCarthy). The Beavers build up a 16-7 lead before Whittier clawed their way back with a 5-1 streak to cut Caltech's lead to five points at 17-12. It wasn't quite enough, as Caltech maintained control and eventualy claimed the set by a 25-17 score.
The second set began similarly to the first, with Whittier claiming a couple early points before the Beavers caught fire, racking up an 11-4 lead, this time with rookie
Giulia Murgia (Iglesias, Italy / Istituto di Istruzione Superiore G. Asproni) claiming a pair of aces along the way. Again, the lead would prove to be insurmountable for the Poets, who ended up conceding seven points to Caltech due to errors, plus a few sneaky attacks for kills by junior setter
Halle Blend (Farmers Branch, Texas / Hockaday), and the Beavers won the set 25-14, looking poised to sweep the day.
Whittier found their stride in the third set, tying and then pulling ahead of the Beavers twice along the way to a 9-5 lead, drawing Caltech's first timeout of the match. The teams traded points a couple times before a couple Whittier ball handling errors prompted their first timeout of the set as their lead had shrunk to just one point. Caltech racked up a five-point lead at 21-16, but the resurgent Poets fought all the way back, winning 10 of the last 13 points including a Caltech match point to claim the third set by a 26-24 score.
The Poets were loath to bow out without some dramatic flair, as their momentum carried them to an early 8-3 margin, further streaking ahead to 15-7 and exhausting Caltech's timeouts for the set. The eventual 25-18 set win tied the match at 2-2, leading to the first and only time Caltech played a fifth set at home all season long. The Beavers quickly put a stop to the Poets' threat to spoil the day, winning the first four points with kills by juniors
Sophia Parker (Palmdale, Calif. / William J. Pete Knight) and
Claire Perhach (Carlsbad, Calif. / Sage Creek), inducing an early timeout by the guests and it was 8-2 when the teams switched sides. It was practically all Caltech from that point on, with Poet errors and effective attacks sealing a 15-5 score and putting an exclamation point on the 2022 Caltech Volleyball season.
Blend continued her playmaking dominance with a match-high 40 assists, bringing her season total to 504 as she surged past the 1000 assists mark this year. First-year
Marissa Till (Woodinville, Wash. / Woodinville) and Perhach shared a match high of 16 kills each, as Perhach and freshman
Alexis Herfurth (Sonora, Calif. / Sonora) each locked on target for .316 and .333 hitting percentages, respectively. Herfurth further added a team-high three blocks. Parker complemented her team-high five aces with 17 digs, where junior libero
Angel Wang (Colorado Springs, Colo. / Pine Creek) showcased her defensive prowess with a match-high 23 digs.
The Beavers hope to carry this energy through the off-season and look to field a dominant squad in Fall 2023.
