PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech volleyball team competed in its final home contest of the season on Friday as they hosted the University of Redlands for an evening interconference matchup.

The Beavers honored its five seniors — MB Gabriella Twombly, setter Halle Blend, OH/OPP Claire Perhach, MB/OPP Helen Brackney and setter Carolyn Lu — with a send-off ceremony prior to the start of the game.

The early part of the opening set proved a back-and-forth affair, with the two squads reaching a tie four times before tying once more at 10-10.

It was at this point that the Bulldogs pulled ahead, but the Beavers continued to fight; the team got within one of the guests after a ferocious kill by sophomore OH Marissa Till and a well-timed block from Perhach on the following point.

Caltech hung around as play continued — getting within five of their opponents at 23-18 — before the visitors squeaked out the set victory.

Set 2 told a different story as it was the Beavers who controlled the momentum; the squad won nine out of ten points in the middle of the set to jump out to a massive 12-6 lead. An ace from Blend and a shared block from Perhach and Brackney highlighted the run in addition to two kills from sophomore OH Sophia Parker and another from first-year OH Alize Bakker.

Caltech scored five straight points for the second time a few moments later, including two kills from Blend and a huge block from Perhach and Till. A kill from Perhach made it a 14-3 run for the Beavers and put the team on top 17-8.

Redlands could not catch up to Caltech as the Beavers tied the match, taking the second set 25-20.

The squad carried the momentum into the third set as they took the opening point, though the Bulldogs matched the set score on the subsequent point before taking the lead.

After going down by as many as eight, the Beavers scored seven out of eight straight points to get within three of the Bulldogs at 23-20, though the opponents won the two points necessary to take the set.

The fourth set opened with the Beavers earning the opening point before Redlands pushed ahead for the lead. The group posted back-to-back points later in the set after Brackney connected on a kill and first-year Celine Wu notched an ace to put the squad within two at 11-9. The Bulldogs responded with a nice kill before the Beavers posted two kills of their own, with sophomore setter/DS Gilulia Murgia feeding Till and Blend feeding Perhach.

The home crowd gave its loud support to the Beavers who fought their way back to within a point at 12-11, but the team was unable to take over the lead as Redlands earned the victory.

Bakker played a vital role on the floor for the Beavers, concluding the contest with a career high in digs (17) — just one shy of tying the game high. Wu followed closely behind with 16 while Parker successfully dug 12 times.

Blend finished the match with team-highs in kills (11) and assists (18). The all-time program record holder in career assists, Blend will have one more contest to add to her total.

Wu notched three aces for the second time in three contests; the team as a whole logged six aces.

Caltech registered six blocks on the evening, with Perhach contributing to three of them. The standout recorded the highest hitting percentage among all players with over three attacks (.321).

The Beavers will head on the road for their final match of 2023 as they compete against the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Saturday, Nov. 4. Action is slated to begin at 4 p.m.

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