No. 2 CMS Volleyball Keeps Rolling, Defeats Pomona-Pitzer in Three Sets

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team, which moved up to No. 2 in the AVCA national rankings on Tuesday afternoon (behind Calvin), committed only eight hitting errors in the entire match as it improved to 8-0 in the SCIAC at the midway point of the conference schedule with a 3-0 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Tuesday.

Set scores were 25-20, 25-17, 25-14, as CMS was never seriously threatened in any of the three sets. With the win, the Athenas are now 17-2 overall and have won eight straight (all in league play) and 17 of 18 since an opening day loss to Johnson & Wales. Pomona-Pitzer, meanwhile, slips to 8-12 overall and 5-3 in the SCIAC with the loss. 

CMS had a balanced offense with no player reaching double figures in kills on the day. Freshman Jackie Jones and junior Amanda Walker each had nine kills to lead the way, while Walker, junior setter Phoebe Madsen and junior libero Sarah Tritschler each had a team-high 13 digs. Madsen also contributed 24 assists and five blocks, tying for team-high honors in blocks with sophomore middle Melanie Moore. 

The Athenas used a 4-0 run early in the first set to take an 11-6 lead, with Moore starting it with a kill and then following up with a block with Madsen. From there, CMS refused to let the Sagehens build any momentum, keeping its lead between 4-6 points until Jones finished it off with a kill for a 25-20 win. 

The second set saw Pomona-Pitzer hang close for a while, using back-to-back kills from Julia Zwaal to close to 13-10. After an exchange of points, though, CMS used a 4-0 run, with Walker getting a solo block and a kill back-to-back and Tritschler adding an ace, to build an 18-11 lead. Pomona-Pitzer got to within 22-17, but sophomore Regan Dinovitz answered with a kill, Jones followed with another kill, and a setting error ended the set 25-17. 

CMS has its one extended scoring run in the third set, rattling off 10 straight points after the Sagehens took a 12-11 lead. Sophomore Lucila Grinspan had two aces during the run, while Jones had three kills, including the final one of the spurt to make the score 21-12. Dinovitz and Madsen finished it off with a block for a 25-14 win and a 3-0 win in the match. 

The Athenas hit .264 as a team with 36 kills and only eight errors, including two errors apiece in the first and second sets. Walker didn't have an error in the match, while hitting 9-for-28, while Jones had only one (9-1-30, .267). Pomona-Pitzer, meanwhile, had 20 hitting errors, nine of which came as a result of CMS blocks. 

The Athenas hit the midway point of the conference schedule undefeated in league play at 8-0 and holding a two-game lead in the conference standings over Chapman. CMS starts the second half of the league round-robin at Cal Lutheran on Friday, and then returns home on Saturday at 4 p.m. to meet La Verne, which it defeated in five sets (15-13 in the fifth) in its league opener on Sept. 18.