Volleyball Falls To Redlands in Nail Biter
On Tuesday the CMS Volleyball Team (14-5, 5-3 SCIAC) traveled to Redlands (13-6, 3-5 SCIAC) for their second matchup of the season. The Athenas defeated the Bulldogs 3-0 in September, but found themselves caught in a tough battle this time around. CMS narrowly lost to Redlands 3-2 (25-16, 20-25, 25-20, 20-25, 13-15) in a back and forth struggle.
The Athenas won the first set by a nine-point margin, the largest difference in the match. Outside hitter Kendra Huff (SR, Downey) helped the Athenas take the lead, stepping up with back-to-back kills.
In the second set, the Athenas bounced back from a 5-0 hole to tie the set at 11-11. The Bulldogs surged ahead to make it 20-12 and held off CMS for the win with help from outside hitter Morgan Buckner.
The third set was another back and forth fight, but with some beautiful hitting (.209) from the Athenas and critical kills by outside hitter Emily Hudson (JR, South Pasadena) [pictured] CMS came away with the win.
The fourth set didn't go as smoothly for the Athenas. A few errors coupled with a solid Bulldog attack allowed Redlands to take control.
With the match tied at two sets apiece, the game came down to the final set. Redlands took an early 5-1 lead, but CMS played strong offense to get on top with a score of 8-6. The match stayed tied a nine, ten, 11 and 12, until a few mistakes by the Athenas allowed the Bulldogs to take a 14-12 lead. Right side hitter Angela Estrella-Lemus (SR, Gilroy) was able to keep the Athenas' hopes alive with a strong kill. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, and Redlands won the set and match on a kill from outside hitter Jackie Hamilton.
Huff recorded a team high of 20 digs for the Athenas to accompany her eight kills. Hudson finished with 12 kills and 17 digs. To supplement her 11 kills, middle blocker Bennett Jones (FR, Monte Sereno) had five block assists in the match. Setter Taylor Jones (SO, Scottsdale, AZ) had 45 assists for the Athenas and 18 digs.
CMS will play at La Verne (11-7, 2-3 SCIAC) on Friday, October 15th at 7:30 PM. This will be the teams' first encounter this season. Last season CMS lost to La Verne 3-0 twice and will be looking for redemption on Friday.
- KR