Second-Ranked CMS Volleyball Dominates La Verne on Way to Ninth Straight Win

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's volleyball team, ranked No. 2 in the nation, was never threatened as it took a straight-set win over La Verne on Friday evening.

Set scores were 25-13, 25-14, 25-14 as the Athenas improved to 9-0 overall on the season, and 2-0 in the SCIAC with the win. 

Jenna Holmes led the way for CMS with 10 kills in 18 attempts and one error, good for a .500 hitting percentage. Melanie Williams was close behind with eight kills in 15 attempts and one error for a .467 percentage, as CMS hit .316 as a team for the match. The Athenas also had a great day serving with 16 aces in a three-set match, led by four apiece from Dede Carranza and Spencer Hagenbuch.

CMS put its stamp on the match right away with a 6-0 run to take an early 7-2 lead in the first set, capped off by a Williams kill. A 5-0 run stretched the lead to 18-6 on a Holmes ace, and the Athenas finished off the set on a block from Audrey Sawyer and Summer Ellis. 

The second set saw La Verne hang tough for a little while, keeping the score within 12-10, before CMS opened it up with a  6-2 run, including two straight kills from Kelsey Polhemus. CMS finished off the set with a 5-0 run for a 25-14 win, including two Hagenbuch aces, the second on set point. 

The pivotal run in the third set was a 7-0 barrage by the Athenas that turned a 15-11 lead into a 22-11 advantage. Carranza had three aces during the run, while Holmes had a pair of kills. Sawyer then finished off the match with a kill for a 25-14 third set win. 

Due to the number of short points, CMS had low defensive numbers, as Izzy Sakoda was the only member of the Athenas to have more than four digs, finishing with nine on the evening (five others had four). Polhemus had seven kills and Sawyer six from the middle position, while Georgia McGovern had 22 assists at setter. 

CMS will be back in action tomorrow when it hosts Cal Lutheran for a 6 p.m. contest at Roberts Pavilion.