PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech volleyball team earned a number of monumental wins in 2022 on way to a massively successful season as the group achieved its highest conference standing in program history.

Under the direction of head coach Tom Gardner, last year's Beavers earned eight victories over the course of the fall, including five tough wins over teams in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) to beat out Whittier, Occidental and Redlands in the conference standings. The program has achieved at least eight wins in each of the last three seasons.

The squad picked up its first win in San Dimas as the young group topped West Coast Baptist College in straight sets (25-7, 25-11, 25-8). First-year OH Marissa Till led all players in kills with nine; first-year setter/DS Giulia Murgia led the way in assists, recording 19.

The team traveled back to Pasadena for its next match, though not to campus as the group visited the crosstown Sea Beggars of Providence Christian College. There, the Beavers picked up its second win in a row in yet another sweep (25-15, 25-23, 25-12) to make it three straight wins against their nearby competitor going back to 2019. Junior OH/OPP Claire Perhach boosted the team on offense and defense, logging 11 kills to go with seven digs. Junior libero Angel Wang steadied the team throughout the course of the match, who recorded 15 digs in the three-set contest.

The squad would earn two exhibition wins against the University of Redlands and Chaffey College on Sep. 10 before traveling to Lancaster on Sep. 13 for its final nonconference bout of the season. There, the Beavers faced the University of Antelope Valley in an intense five-setter which went down to the wire.

Caltech would get off to a 2-0 start (25-17, 25-15) in the opening sets, though the Pioneers battled back, earning a 25-19 victory in set 3 before squeezing by with a 25-23 win in the fourth. It all came down to the decider, where Caltech ultimately grabbed the win, 15-11, after cleaning up mistakes made in the prior two sets. The Beavers fell behind 1-3 in the fifth but would quickly tie it up at four a piece before forging an 11-6 lead after some strong serves from Murgia and a kill from senior MB Dallas Taylor. Antelope Valley was unable to close the gap as the Beavers secured the victory.

Perhach led all players in kills with 19, followed by Taylor and first-year OH Sophia Parker with 14. Blend posted the seventh-most single-game assists in Caltech history (46).

The group would notch its first SCIAC win of 2022 before the end of the month as the Beavers hosted rival Occidental in a home showdown. The squads split the first two sets (25-23, 20-25) before the Beavers cruised to a 25-16 third set and a 25-18 score in the fourth to nab the victory. The team made it back-to-back home wins a few days later as they earned a quick 3-0 result over Redlands (25-14, 25-9, 25-13).

The Beavers grabbed the season sweep over Occidental on Oct. 11 in an away matchup that ended in three sets (25-23, 25-22, 25-19). Junior MB Gabriella Twombly recorded six block assists in the match, smashing her career-high of three and tying the all-time program record.

Later in the month, the team would go on to pick up the season sweep over Redlands in a thrilling five-set battle that saw the Beavers climb back from a significant deficit. After going down 0-2 (18-25, 25-27), the Beavers completed the incredible comeback as they earned the must-win victories in sets three, four and five (25-21, 25-21, 15-12). Blend played a major role in the team's turnaround, producing an exceptional 39 assists en route to the victory. First-year OH/OPP Olivia Xu led the crew in services aces with three.

With a number of impressive wins under their belt, the group would ready up for one final match as they hosted Whittier College on Senior Day. It was an important game for the Beavers, who fell just short of the Poets earlier in the season in a narrow five-set loss. This match would also go the distance, though it was the Beavers who came out on top as the team played some of its best volleyball of the season. The group would pick up a 15-5 win in the final set to finish above Whittier in the final SCIAC standings.

It was an impressive statistical season for the Beavers, who broke the program record in fewest ball handling errors (15). Individually, Wang recorded a phenomenal 339 digs — the fourth-most in a season for any player in program history. Blend, meanwhile, assisted on 504 points, putting her fourth all-time in the Caltech record boards in single-season assists. The standout earned second-team All-SCIAC honors for her strong play — her second straight year of achieving all-conference recognition.

Head coach Tom Garnder was incredibly pleased with how his young team performed as the year progressed.

"I am very happy with the hard work put in by our entire roster and the ability of many to elevate their level of play throughout the season," said Gardner. "We had to overcome some tough adversity but were still able to record our highest conference standing in program history. I am proud of the team and the continued upward trajectory of the program."

With the Beavers losing just one player to graduation this past June, the team will look to top its 2022 campaign with a large group of returners and several high-achieving newcomers as they take on the 2023 season.

Follow Caltech Volleyball on Instagram and follow Caltech Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.