Sarah Tritschler Named SCIAC Volleyball Specialist of the Week

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Junior libero Sarah Tritschler was named the SCIAC Volleyball Specialist of the Week for matches through Sept. 9, it was announced today by the conference office.

It marked the second straight week that the defending national champion Athenas have earned the honor, after junior setter Phoebe Madsen captured the SCIAC Volleyball Specialist of the Week last Monday. 

This week, Tritschler had a major role in helping No. 4 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps sweep its way through the Trinity Fall Classic in San Antonio with a 4-0 record, including five-set wins over fifth-ranked Trinity and Texas-Tyler. She reached the 25-dig mark in three straight matches in the tournament, tallying 25 digs in a five-set win over No. 5 Trinity, 27 in a five-set win over Texas-Tyler, and 25 in a four-set win over Texas Lutheran to close out the week.

In addition to her work defensively, Tritschler also tallied 22 assists, with eight against Trinity (including the assist on the clinching kill in the fifth), as well as the assist on the go-ahead kill at 13-13 in the fifth against Texas-Tyler. She then dug out the tying kill attempt from Texas-Tyler off the CMS serve, which led directly to the winning kill from Tournament MVP Amanda Walker. 

For the season, the Athenas are now 7-1 on the year, with a seven-match win streak since falling 3-2 in their opener to No. 6 Johnson & Wales (R.I.). Four of the seven CMS wins have come in five sets (No. 14 Carthage, Brandeis, No. 5 Trinity, Texas-Tyler), with two others in four sets. 

CMS will be back in action this weekend when it hosts the six-team East-West Challenge at Roberts Pavilion. The Athenas will host Emory on Friday night at 7 p.m., and then have a rematch with Texas-Dallas on Saturday at 10 a.m., followed by a showdown with Washington (Mo.) at 4:45 p.m. Cal Lutheran and Juniata will also be part of the tournament field.