First Years Dinovitz and Moore Hold Court Over Bulldogs

Box Score

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's volleyball team extended their winning streak to four games after a gritty 3-0 sweep (25-14, 25-23, 25-19) over the University of Redlands Bulldogs. Despite finishing the game quickly, the Athenas were tested by the Bulldogs, especially during the second set when CMS overcame a three-point deficit to take a 2-0 set lead.

With the victory, the Athenas maintain a first-place lead in the SCIAC, boasting a 6-1 record in conference play and 13-5 overall.

The Bulldogs did a solid job on the defensive end, limiting the Athenas to a .182 hitting percentage and recording eight blocks. However, CMS also held it down, containing the Bulldogs to a .066 hitting percentage and scoring more kills, 40 to 23.

The first years made quite an impact for the Athenas as Melanie Moore (CMC) and Regan Dinovitz (CMC) co-led with 11 kills each. Moore also recorded a block assist and two service aces while Dinovitz had two total blocks for the night.

As usual, the Athenas got off to a hot start in the first set, taking advantage of four errors by the Bulldogs to go on a 6-0 run and lead 7-1. Up 13-7, Moore executed a solid kill off the receiver's hands to spark a 7-2 run as the Athenas led 20-9. A meteor-like kill from Dinovitz and an attacking error by Redlands' Marlena Ramanis gave CMS the set 25-14.

In the second set, Redlands made several adjustments, featuring a new rotation of front line players from the prior set to hold off the Athenas' offense. CMS went on a 5-0 run while down 8-6 to take an 11-8 lead, during which Mikena Werner (SC) scored a service ace. However, the advantage was short-lived as Redlands saw CMS commit two straight errors followed by a block from Melanie Fyda and Hannah Lanyon to tie the game at 11 apiece. The two teams traded points until Christina Casey and Sofia Olsson scored back-to-back kills for Redlands before Olsson and Fyda combined for a block to give Redlands an 18-15 lead. The Bulldogs eventually took a 23-20 lead after Dinovitz committed a bad set. The following point, Dinovitz covered her mistake with a direct spike parallel to the net off a quick toss from Phoebe Madsen (CMC), sparking a comeback. Right after, Margaux Arntson (CMC) scored on a deflected kill to cut the deficit 23-22. After an attacking error by Angelina Hughes that rolled across the net and back onto the Bulldogs' floor, Arntson closed the set with two straight contested kills to help the Athenas take a 2-0 advantage.

The Athenas maintained their momentum in the third set, taking advantage of several Bulldogs' mistakes to build a respectable lead. After being ahead 9-8, the Athenas extended their lead 12-8 after the Bulldogs' committed three straight errors. The Bulldogs struggled to close the gap, and CMS went on another brief 3-0 run after leading 20-17 when Dinovitz scored a big kill followed by a service ace from Madsen. After committing a set error to extend the Athenas' lead 23-17, Redlands took back two points in hopes of coming back. However, Dinovitz ended hopes of a Redlands comeback with a well-placed kill and Werner closed the match with a service ace to seal it 25-19.

CMS will host cross-street rival Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday evening at 4 p.m.