REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Volleyball team (5-3, 1-0 SCIAC) took down Occidental College in straight sets Friday night inside Currier Gym 25-22, 25-17, 25-17 as they won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opener for the first time since 2016 when they also beat Occidental.
The Bulldogs held an early 2-0 lead in the first set thanks to an Avery Aminoff (Alexandria, VA) kill off a Makenna Van Hofwegen (Buckeye, AZ) assist and an Elizabeth Moyer (Surprise, AZ) service ace.
Occidental, though, scored eight of the next 10 points going in front 8-4. The U of R then responded with a 3-1 run that included kills from Emma Murphy (South Jordan, UT) and Esha Ball (Fresno, CA).
The Tigers continued to hold a slight advantage until two in a row by the Bulldogs changed the momentum putting them in front 19-18 thanks to a pair of errors.
With the exception of a tie at 19-19, Redlands would lead the rest of they way as they finished off the first set 25-22. Aminoff and Kaegan Wherry (Englewood, CO) had kills with Lali Makaiwi (Las Vegas, NV) earning an assist down the stretch.
Following the first six points in the second set, the match was tied at three. The Maroon and Grey then went on a 7-2 run that put them ahead by five, 10-5. During the stretch Murphy had two kills with Lyric Waterman (Aurora, CO) assisting on one of them and Makaiwi scoring twice on aces.
The lead grew to as many as eight, 15-7, before Occidental closed to within four, 18-14. From that point on Redlands won seven of the next ten as they moved to within a set of the match. Van Hofwegen added an ace and Makaila Brooks (Las Vegas, NV) had the set-winning kill.
It was all Bulldogs to begin set three leading 6-2, but the Tigers responded with their best stretch of the match where they outscored Redlands 8-1.
Despite the slight scare the Bulldogs rallied out of a timeout finishing off the set and match on an 18-7 run, during which saw Murphy score six times and Wherry another four.
Wherry finished with a game-high 11 kills, while Murphy added 10. Waterman added 13 assists, Makaiwi 12 digs, and Brooks 1.5 blocks.
The Bulldogs, who rank No. 16 in Division III in kills per set totaled 36 kills, which averages out to 12 per set. They also outhit the Tigers .200-.152.
Head coach Savannah Cox on the win and her team's performance to start 2024
Tonight was a great team win. I am excited about our offensive production so far this season. We are averaging 13.3 kills a set, which is a testament to our hitter's ability to score but also is indicative of the quality of our first contact. We are playing cohesive and a well-balanced style of volleyball. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to watch this group continue to grow together as one unit.
The Bulldogs travel to Caltech Saturday, September 28 with an afternoon match-up taking on the Beavers beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Pasadena.
