REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands women's volleyball team (3-7, 1-0 SCIAC) took down the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in straight sets Thursday evening inside Currier Gym 25-15, 25-17, 25-21 to begin their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) schedule.
In the opening set the Bulldogs won 11 of the first 14 points with Jaycee Hullar (Lake Elsinore, CA) picking up two kills and Lily Kautai (San Mateo, CA) another three.
Following a Kautai kill off a Makenna Vanhofwegen (Buckeye, AZ) assist that made it 20-8, the Beavers won four-straight before the Bulldogs responded with five of the last six, which incluided kills by Ainsley Dyerly (Redlands, CA), Emily Kitchin (Portland, OR) and Crystal Adams (Beaumont, CA) to secure the set, 25-15.
It was another fast start in the second as Kautai had the first three kills with Cecily Wagstaff (Portland, OR) picking up a connection and a block to help Redlands get out to a 7-1 lead.
Redlands found themselves out in front by seven, 14-7, but Caltech won four of the next five to cut the lead to four, 15-11. The Beavers then cut their deficit to three, 17-14. The Bulldogs, however, quickly extinguished the fire, ending the second set on an 8-3 run.
Hullar and Makaila Brooks (Las Vegas, NV) had kills with a Vanhofwegen ace leading to a 4-0 lead to open the third. That lead eventually got cut down to one, 8-7. From that point forward the Bulldogs did not lead by more than three points until a 3-0 spurt with an ace by Olivia Stanley (Lake Elsinore, CA) and a kill by Brooke Patsch (Thousand Oaks, CA) made it 16-11.
Caltech, though, fought back again, tying their must-win set at 18-18. A pair of Hullar kills and a Beaver attacking error made it a three-point set, 21-18, which was enough for the Bulldogs to take the third and final frame, 25-21.
Kautai and Hullar had 14 and 11 kills, respectively as Kautai hit .355, while Hullar hit an unbelievable .688. Vanhofwegen, Kaitlyn DeLong (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), and Hannah Hajnal (El Cerrito, CA) all had 10 digs each with Hajnal completing the double-double with 11 assists.
Redlands now travels to Azusa on Saturday, September 26 at 11:00am where they face off with new SCIAC member Azusa Pacific University in a non-conference match, since they are not eligible to compete for the SCIAC title in their first season after reclassifying from NCAA Division II.
