CMS Volleyball Sweeps Pomona-Pitzer, Moves to 4-0 in SCIAC

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Jenna Holmes had 20 kills, including two in a row with the score tied 23-23 in the second set, as the fifth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team earned a 25-17, 25-23, 25-10 road win over Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday afternoon at Voelkel Gymnasium.

With the win, CMS improves to 10-3 on the season and 4-0 in SCIAC play, with all four wins coming via sweep. CMS has also now won 47 regular-season SCIAC matches in a row, and 53 in a row including the postseason tournaments. 

Dede Carranza also had a big day defensive for CMS with 31 digs in a three-set match, while Holmes added 14 digs and Georgia McGovern had 14 digs to go with her 36 assists. Brooke Mckee was also in double figures in kills with 10, while Kelsey Polhemus had seven kills in 14 attempts. 

The Sagehens actually led 9-5 in the first set, before CMS caught fire and took a 25-17 win on a Holmes kill. A 5-0 run in the middle of the set turned a 13-11 deficit into a 16-13 lead, and Holmes had three kills and a block in a 6-1 run that turned a 16-14 lead into a 22-15 advantage. 

The primary drama in the match came in the second set, which came right down to the wire. The Athenas built an early lead, but the Sagehens were able to come back to tie it at 21-21. A Sagehen error and a Holmes kill made it 23-21 in favor of CMS, but Pomona-Pitzer earned the next two points to bring it back even at 23-23, before Holmes came up big in the clutch. 

The third set had little drama, as CMS raced to a 7-1 lead early behind four Holmes kills. A McKee kill pushed the lead to 11-2 and the Athenas were never challenged the rest of the way. 

CMS will be back in action on Tuesday night at home when it faces La Verne, which comes in at 14-0 and ranked No. 24 in the country.