PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech volleyball team earned a number of impressive victories across 2023, including four 3-0 sweeps and a thrilling 3-2 victory over Pomona-Pitzer.

The season served as the final campaign for the squad's five seniors, who helped lead the group to its highest conference standing in program history one year earlier.

This year was a historic one for senior setter Halle Blend (Farmers Branch, Texas / Hockaday), who broke the program's career assists record with a final tally of 1,601. Stunningly, Blend achieved the record in just three years as Caltech did not compete in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The standout reached the record just six matches into 2023, topping Megan Kennedy's record of 1,335 from 2003.

The Beavers earned their first win in their second contest as they topped the University of Antelope Valley at home, 25-17, 25-15, 14-25, 25-14.

The squad put in a strong opening set win, closing on a 14-8 run with sophomore outside hitter Sophia Parker (Palmdale, Calif. / William J. Pete Knight) leading all players in kills in the set with six.

Set 2 proved an even more dominant performance for the Beavers, who opened the set on a spectacular 11-0 run with eight of those points coming on kills. It was sophomore setter and defensive specialist Giulia Murgia (Iglesias, Italy / Istituto di Istruzione Superiore G. Asproni) who connected on all 11 serves in the set before finally logging a service error in the 12th point of the set; she assisted on seven of the 11 points in which she served, finishing the set with 12. The Beavers logged 18 total kills in the set to Antelope Valley's four.

The home team dropped the third set before returning to form in the fourth, gaining an 11-point advantage before taking the match. Parker led all players with a career-high 17 kills while Blend earned a career high herself with 12. Murgia's 28 assists destroyed her previous career high of 19 and led all players.

The group picked up another win on Sep. 11 as they defeated West Coast Baptist College, 3-0. The group collected the reult quickly after cruising to the 25-10, 25-18, 25-18 victory on the road. It was the Caltech's eighth win in a row against WCBC — a flawless streak of 3-0 match scores that began in November 2016 — and their ninth win in the last 10 meetings.

It was all-Caltech who amassed a lead as large as 23-9 in Set 1, including a five-point run capped by back-to-back aces by Murgia, before the Institute won the first, 25-10. 

The second set saw the Beavers pick up eight of the nine points in the middle of the set, with kills by five different players and a service ace by first-year libero Celine Wu (Potomoc, Md. / Montgomery Blair). Caltech stayed ahead through the finish, prevailing by a 25-18 margin. Caltech completed the sweep in the third, jumping out to a 6-2 lead and never looking back as they took it, 25-18.

The matchup served as the final clash in California for that week as the group soon took off for Ohio where they competed in the Oberlin Invitational. There, the group picked up its second win in three matches and their second 3-0 sweep of the season as they defeated Saint Vincent College, 25-12, 25-19, 25-19. It was a wire-to-wire victory for the group, who did not allow Saint Vincent to take the lead at any point.

Senior outside hitter/opposite Claire Perhach (Carlsbad, Calif. / Sage Creek) set the tone in the opening point with a kill, kicking off a 13-4 run; Caltech put in a 7-2 closing run to take the first, 25-12.

Set 2 saw the Beavers again play their best volleyball in the closing points. With Caltech on top 18-17, the group closed on another 7-2 run to grab the second set, 25-19. The third set yet again saw another late Beaver run, who at 15-13 posted a 9-3 run to put themselves at match point before forcing an opponent error to take the win.

Perhach led all players with a season-high 14 kills and a career-high three aces, ending the match with a career-best .636 hitting percentage and tying her career high in blocks, with four. As a team, Caltech recorded a season-high eight blocks and season-best .303 hitting percentage, accomplished in just three sets.

The program recorded yet another straight-sets win just a week later as they downed the University of Redlands on the road to open SCIAC play. It was a dominant showing for Caltech, who sailed to the 25-17, 25-18, 25-15 victory to pick up their third win in five contests and their fifth straight against the Bulldogs.

The Beavers led for the entirety of the opening set to take it 25-17, though Redlands responded in the second set with some strong points. Caltech soon gained the advantage, however, after scoring six straight points at 7-7 and ending the set on a 6-2 run to take it, 25-18. The final set was the most dominant for Caltech, despite going down 0-3 to begin the action; the Beavers took over the lead a few points later and ended the game on a 7-2 run with three kills from sophomore outside hitter Marissa Till (Woodinville, Wash. / Woodinville) to take the match.

Caltech faced off against Pomona-Pitzer at home the next day, toppling the Sagehens in five sets (25-20, 24-26, 21-25, 25-19, 15-9) in a rowdy Braun Gym to stay unbeaten in SCIAC play. It was Caltech's third win in four matches and fourth win in their previous six.

Set 1 saw the Beavers score six straight to go up 17-13; they executed on key rallies late in the action to take the 25-20 win. The Beavers nearly came down from 20-13 in the second, but the Sagehens squeezed out the 26-24 result.

The third set saw Caltech took control early in the third set, taking a 5-2 lead and later 11-4 and never looking back, going up by as many as seven at 24-17 before eventually connecting for the set-winning kill.

The visitors answered with a 25-19 win in the fourth to force the deciding fifth, which saw Pomona-Pitzer take the first three points. Kills from Perhach and a Parker ace, however, soon helped the team to a six-point run before Caltech secured the 15-9 set win and match victory.

"Our defense was relentless, our hitters stayed aggressive and our energy was really high," said head coach Tom Gardner. "That combined with some great home fans led to a successful day."

Caltech picked up its final win of the season on Oct. 28 as the Beavers swept Occidental College, 25-23, 25-17, 25-20, after falling to the Tigers 2-3 earlier in the year.

The Beavers took the lead in the first set and never relinquished it, staying ahead despite some impressive surges from their rival. The second set proved the most dominant set as Caltech scored five of the first six points and cruised to the 25-17 win. They earned the sweep not long later after scoring seven straight points in the middle of the third set behind some excellent serving on Murgia and massive kills from Parker, Blend and first-year outside hitter Alize Bakker (Portland, Ore. / Westview).

"It was great to see the team back to our winning ways," said Gardner. "A combination of strong offense, tough serving and solid defense — especially from [Wu] — made it exciting for our Homecoming crowd to watch."

The team finished the season with two program records, including most kills in a match (77) and assists in a match (71), both recorded in their five-set battle with Oxy. Parker finished with a team-high 203 kills while Wu led the way in digs with 329. Blend led the group in assists (358) and aces (35) while Perhach had a team-best 25 blocks.

The program will bring in a slew of promising newcomers as they take on the 2024 season. Stay tuned for the official schedule release this summer.

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