The University of Redlands women's volleyball team opened Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action Friday night, hosting No. 3-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Bulldogs battled but dropped the three-set match (25-23, 25-22, 25-10) to the visiting Athenas.

Senior right-side hitter Maloree Kupp (Sunnyside, WA) led Redlands with 10 kills on the night. Sophomore outside hitter Paige Davidson (Spanaway, WA) followed with seven kills and senior outside hitter Christina Casey (Sherwood, OR) added another six. Both sophomore setter Tati Luevano (San Pablo, CA) and senior setter Emily Marty (San Diego, CA) contributed 13 assists, while junior libero Ally Busch (Long Beach, CA) anchored the defense with 13 digs on the night.

Down 4-2 early, Redlands scored five-straight points to jump in front 7-4. Casey and junior middle blocker Hannah Lanyon (San Diego, CA) teamed up for a stuff at the net to spark the run, while Busch provided quality service at the line, including an ace.

The lead changed six times in the set, before a kill from Kupp evened things up at 23-23. CMS wouldn't let the Bulldogs back in, however, grabbing the next two points for the 25-23 victory.

Similar to set one, the second set had more back and forth action.

Down 6-4, Luevano provided a spark off the bench and led the Bulldogs on a 3-0 run to give Redlands a 7-6 lead. It built into a 10-7 advantage off a kill from freshman middle blocker Saudya Reagor (Banning, CA).

CMS managed to even the score at 17-17 and tried to pull away. The Bulldogs kept battling and tied the set at 22-22 off a kill from Casey, but the Athenas closed out the set for a 25-22 victory.

The Athenas carried the 2-0 momentum into the third set and grabbed the 25-10 win to take the match in three.

Redlands (2-8, 0-1 SCIAC) looks to bounce back on the road, heading to La Verne for a match at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Bulldogs are back at Currier Gym on Tuesday, Sept. 24, hosting Cal Lutheran at 7 p.m.