WHITTIER, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Volleyball team (11-7, 5-5 SCIAC) dropped set one by only two points at Whittier College Friday night but were never able to quite overcome the Poets in a 3-0 (23-25, 15-25, 20-25) loss.
Lily Houston started the match with a kill off a Makenna Vanhofwegen (Buckeye, AZ) assist and had a solo block for a quick 2-0 lead.
Tied at six Hannah Hajnal (El Cerrito, CA) set Esha Ball (Fresno, CA) for a kill in the middle before an attack error by Whittier gave Redlands an 8-6 lead. They held the lead as late as 18-17 when the Poets conceded a point on an attacking error, but Whittier finished the set off on an 8-5 run to secure the opening set, 25-23.
Following a strong start and a competitive first set, Lily Kautai (San Mateo, CA) had the lone Bulldog point to begin the second as they Maroon and Grey faced an 11-point deficit, 12-1. Cecily Wagstaff (Portland, OR) and Houston combined on a block to help the Bulldogs to a 6-3 run that also included kills from Wagstaff, Kautai, and two from Emma Murphy (South Jordan, UT).
Redlands closed the gap to as few as seven on two occasions, but ultimately the deficit was too much to overcome and Whittier went ahead 2-0.
Trailing by three, 7-4, in a do or die third set, Makaila Brooks (Las Vegas, NV) had a kill that sparked a 6-0 run that gave the U of R an 11-7 advantage.
Whittier though responded back with a 7-1 run of their own that made it 16-13 Poets.
The final push from Redlands came thanks to two attacking errors, a combined block from Wagstaff and Houston, a kill from Wagstaff, and a service ace from Hajnal, which combined to tie the set at 17-17.
Redlands' late charge fell short because Whittier scored eight of the final 11 points to take the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.
Kautai, Houston, and Wagstaff combined for 21 kills on the night. Vanhofwegen and Hajnal had 24 of the Bulldogs' 29 assists. Redlands did out-hit Whittier .171-.167, but had nine more total errors.
The Bulldogs get right back to action with senior day Saturday afternoon, October 25 inside Currier Gym as they take on Pomona-Pitzer beginning at 4:00 p.m.
