CMS Volleyball Drops First Set, Roars Back to Defeat Pomona-Pitzer

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team dropped the first set at Pomona-Pitzer, only the fourth set it has lost all season and the first in conference, but responded the way a top-ranked team should, dominating the second and going on to a 20-25, 25-10, 25-19, 25-17 on Saturday afternoon at the newly-opened Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness.

The Athenas improve to 23-0 on the year, and 13-0 in conference, although their streak of 37 consecutive won sets came to a close (36 of which came in its first 12 conference matches, as well as the final set in a 3-1 win over Colorado College on Sept. 17). Pomona-Pitzer slips to 14-8 overall and 9-5 in conference. 

Brenna Bell continued her remarkable season that ranks her among the most efficient hitters in the nation, despite playing on the outside, registering 10 kills in 16 attempts and recording a .562 hitting percentage. Middle hitter Audrey Sawyer hit .462 (8-1-15) and right-side hitter Summer Ellis hit .462 for an Athena team that overcame a slow start to hit .303 for the match. 

Over the course of its 37 sets in a row, CMS did have a small handful where it started slow and rallied back. This time, however, the Sagehens were able to hold the Athenas off for a 25-20 win, after jumping out to a 7-1 lead. CMS got back within three points twice, and used a 3-0 run to get within 20-16, but the teams then exchanged sideouts down the stretch until a Paige Wilson kill gave Pomona-Pitzer the 25-20 win. 

The Athenas responded to that setback by dominating the second with a 25-10 win, using an 11-0 run to turn a 10-8 lead into a commanding 21-8 advantage. Jenna Holmes started and ended the run with kills on her way to a team-high 13. 

The third set was a tighter battle, with CMS holding a 14-13 lead before a 3-0 run gave the Athenas some separation. After the Sagehens got to within 18-15, another 3-0 run, including an ace from Ashley Murashige, put CMS up by six points. Holmes had kills for the 22nd, 23rd and 24th points, and Bell finished off the set with a kill for a 25-19 win and a 2-1 lead. 

CMS got early separation in the fourth set by jumping out to a 7-2 lead, but the Sagehens were able to come back to within 9-8. Ellis and Dani Beder combined on a block to stop that run, and after Pomona-Pitzer cut it to 12-11, CMS rattled off four straight points on a Beder kill, an Izzy Sakoda block, and two Dede Carranza aces. A Sakoda kill made it 19-12, and after Pomona-Pitzer crept back to within 21-17, CMS closed with four points in a row, the last two on Bell kills. 

Spencer Hagenbuch (23 assists) and Georgia McGovern (22 assists) continued to split the setting duties for a CMS team that ranks far and away as the top hitting team in Division III at .316, 40 points higher than any other team in the nation. Carranza had 16 digs, while Sakoda had 11 to lead the CMS defensive effort. 

The Athenas will be back in action on Tuesday night when they host Whittier for a 7 p.m. contest at Roberts Pavilion.