Things did not look good for the Pomona-Pitzer women’s volleyball team entering its game against Redlands on October 9: five consecutive conference losses, an overall record of 2-11, injuries to two of the team’s top players, an opponent that brought an 8-2 overall record into the match. The contest had all the ingredients of a blowout. But instead, the Sagehens put together an impressive team performance, falling three games to one but leaving the court with positive expectations about the second half of the conference schedule.

The first game was the closest match of the night. Redlands opened up an 11-6 advantage thanks to the frontcourt play of Bulldogs Carrie Akers and Jillian Hinman. The dominating play of Redlands’ front-court would be a recurring theme for the rest of the night. Despite its inability to get above the net and get quality spikes, Pomona-Pitzer clawed back and tied the score at 15-15.

Redlands pulled away again, leading 26-19 at one point, only to see the lead shrink for a second time due to the smart play of the Sagehen’s front-court.

At that point in the match, the Sagehens had figured out that while Redlands’ front-court was tough, it didn’t get much support from its back court.

By lightly tapping the ball over the outstretched hands of the Bulldog’s defense, the Sagehens could find the open spots in the floor coverage.

This style of play brought the Sagehens storming back and put the score at 28-27. But the Bulldogs eventually outlasted and won the first game 30-28.

The second game looked like more of the same: Redlands opened up an early lead. But the Sagehens fought hard. Behind the serving of Alysha Lascano ‘05, the Sagehens tied the game 10-10 and then took the lead 11-10.

The teams stayed within four points of each other for the rest of the game, but Pomona-Pitzer eventually won 30-25.

It was in the third game that Redlands’ front-court began to overpower the Sagehens. For the third straight game, Redlands gained a small lead, one they would not relinquish. Despite the play of Elena Shih ’04 (who at one point in this game used her head to keep the ball alive), the squad found itself down 20-10.

Mental errors and lapses in communication hurt the Sagehens through much of this game. This was a topic coach Valerie Cowan would touch on after the match: "The mental errors really killed us. We’ve got to cut down on those in the remainder of the season."

A small comeback at the end of the game provided a glimpse of hope, but Pomona-Pitzer eventually fell in the third game 30-23.

The late rally in the third game pumped up both the team and the loyal fans who showed up at the Rains Center to cheer their team on.

The Sagehens won the first two points, but Redlands stormed back, tying the game at 2-2 and opening up an 11-9 lead. Pomona-Pitzer played a close game (some of the best volleys of the match occurred in this game), but Redlands was too tough and eventually won 30-26.

After the match, Coach Cowan thought her team played well: "We could pass better, and we had a few lapses, but overall I’m pleased. When you consider the lineup changes that we were forced to institute you have to think that we did a good job."

The changes stemmed from the loss of Vicenta Arrizon ’04 and Renee Faulkner ’04, both of whom were injured in the team’s previous match against Occidental. "We had to throw people in the middle who don’t normally play there," Cowan said. "Colleen [Chrisco ‘02] normally plays outside, but she played inside today, and Susan [Caplow] ’03 normally plays right. Susan did a great job for us today."

Caplow had 17 kills and 9 digs for the Sagehens. Lascano played the whole match for the Sagehens and had 30 assists. Arrizon is out with a hamstring injury, and Faulkner hurt her rotator cuff. Cowan expects both players to return next week.

With Arrizon and Faulkner on the court, it would have been a different story for the Sagehens. Both players provide a frontcourt presence that was definitely lacking in this match. In the end, it was Redlands’ powerful frontcourt that proved to be the deciding factor in the game. Besides Akers and Hinman, Lauren Reid and Corinne Flowers played well inside for the Bulldogs.

So despite the loss, the match was a promising one for the Sagehens, who are looking forward to the second half of conference play.

"I think we can definitely beat this team next time around," said Cowan. "When we get all of our players healthy and we change things up a little we will be all right. We’ve had a chance to see everyone [in our conference] now."

The team could look back at this game as a turning point in the season. Their next league match is against Cal Tech on Monday.

They beat Cal Tech in three straight games last time they played and should have no trouble dispatching them again.

After that, they face a bunch of conference opponents that they have seen before and know they can beat. "A .500 conference record is still a definite possibility," Cowan said.

The setbacks have been many, and the rewards few. However, the season is still young, as are the players, and their optimism will carry them into the second half of SCIAC play, starting at home on Monday.