PASADENA, Calif. – The Caltech volleyball team defeated the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens on Saturday in a riveting five-set home victory, picking up their third win in four matches and their second straight to improve to 2-0 in SCIAC play. It was the team's first win against Pomona-Pitzer since 2019 and its first time topping the Sagehens at home.
The Beavers started off on the right foot in Set 1 as they quickly picked up three points off a kill from sophomore OH Sophia Parker and two more from OH/OPP Claire Perhach. The Sagehens would tie the contest up as action continued before the visitors nabbed a one-point advantage at 12-11.
A kill from Parker would tie the set at 12-12 and begin an incredible six-point run for the Beavers, who with first-year libero Celine Wu at serve would push on to take a massive 17-12 lead. Parker connected for three total kills in the six-point run.
The guests climbed back to just a one-point deficit, but Caltech remained strong and executed strongly on several rallies. A final kill from senior setter capped off the first set for a 25-20 win.
The set that followed featured the most turbulent back-and-forth action of the match. The two teams traded sideouts for the first 10 rallies, and the teams locked up at 9-9 after neither side could gain more than a single-point lead. The Sagehens eventually pulled away with a six-point run to make it 15-9 and later extended the lead to 20-13 before Halle Blend stopped the momentum with a kill, bringing up Wu to serve for her second time in the set.
Wu ignited her team and the Braun Gymnasium crowd with three consecutive aces en route to a nine-point Caltech run to regain the lead at 22-20, dealing out another ace to the same spot and gaining a fifth one by virtue of a rotation violation by the noticeably rattled Sagehens. However, the visitors recovered by claiming four of the following five rallies for a set point at 24-23. Caltech took one sideout but Pomona-Pitzer claimed the next two points to tie the match at 1-1 with a 26-24 set score.
Undeterred, Caltech quickly took control of the third set with an early 5-2 lead, later extending to 11-4 and never looking back. While the guests survived four set points from 24-17 up to 24-21, Parker put an end to it with the set-winning kill, bringing her team just one set away from a monumental win.
The Sagehens did not surrender, though, and after trading some early points in Set 4 they went on a five-point run for an 8-5 lead, later extending their lead to six points and forcing a decisive fifth set with a 25-19 rebuttal.
With the final set only going to 15 points, every play was even more important as tension and pressure filled the gym. The guests sustained their comeback by claiming the first three points, and then tying the score at 4-4 after the Beavers earned four in a row. But then it was all Caltech as Perhach knocked down a couple of kills, Parker dropped in an ace, and then Marissa Till capped the six-point run with two consecutive kills of her own. Pomona-Pitzer took the next two and then the teams traded points for the next six rallies, with another kill by Till followed by a Helen Brackney spike making it a 13-9 score. A service error by the visitors brought Wu up to serve at match point, and Blend slammed the door with a swing from the front-right that the Sagehens deflected out of bounds. The home fans erupted as the Beavers' bench rushed the court to celebrate the 15-9 win, giving the Beavers a 3-2 triumph.
"Our defense was relentless, our hitters stayed aggressive and our energy was really high," said Gardner. "That combined with some great home fans led to a successful day."
Wu contributed to that relentless defense with a match-high 31 kills, as did Blend with 23. Till led both squads in kills with 20 kills, and Brackney led the Beavers in accuracy with a .316 hitting percentage for six kills and no attacking errors. Blend led both teams with 29 assists, and Perhach had a match-high five block assists, sharing her efforts with three from Blend and two from Parker.
Gardner and the Beavers will next hit the road to face the University of La Verne on Tuesday, Sep. 26. Find live stats and video information at https://gocaltech.com/coverage.
