The University of Redlands volleyball team traveled to Claremont for Tuesday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match against the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Sagehens.  Despite racking up a season-high 8.5 blocks, the Bulldogs fell short of defeating the Sagehens in straight sets, 19-25, 20-25, 21-25. 

The opening stanza saw a back-and-forth battle, with both teams mustering small comebacks to overcome slight deficits.  With the score tied up at 17 apiece, the host school fired off back-to-back kills to establish a slight edge that provided the difference.

During the second set, Pomona-Pitzer jumped out to an early 5-0 lead before Redlands fought to cut it to two off of a kill by junior right-side hitter Cierra Stevens (Palm Springs, CA) and back-to-back service aces by junior outside hitter Marisa Gile (Yucaipa, CA).  However, the Sagehens responded by staying ahead for the remainder of the frame to grab a two-set advantage.

The Bulldogs' faced another uphill battle in the final set, as Pomona-Pitzer unleashed a solid attack both at the net and at the service line for an 8-2 lead.  Freshman middle blocker Kiersten Langerud (Williamsburg, VA) provided a spark for the Maroon and Gray to make it 7-9, when she knocked down a pair of kills and teamed up with sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Dustin (San Marino, CA) and junior right-side hitter Kimberly Nevarez (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) for two blocks. 

But the rally was short-lived as errors continued to plague the visiting team.

Junior middle blocker Ashton Martin (Redlands, CA) led the Bulldog offense with nine kills en route to a hitting percentage of .318, while Langerud offered eight kills at a clip of .333.  Defensively, senior libero Courtney Johnson (Dana Point, CA) tallied 16 digs, while Martin was credited with five block assists.

Redlands (1-10, 1-5 SCIAC) works to turn things around when it hosts Occidental College on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Currier Gym.