Volleyball Splits Tourney, beats Cal-Tech in SCIAC Opener
By Alex Jackle
Contributing Writer

In two matches on Tuesday, September 24, the Pomona-Pitzer women’s volleyball team split a double header as they fell to Chapman University three games to none, then reversed their fortunes against an overmatched Caltech. The two outings brought the Sagehen’s overall record to four and six, and the victory over Caltech meant the team won their first SCIAC match.

The match against the Chapman Panthers proved to be a much closer game then the final score would reveal. While overtaken three games to zero, the Hens battled out all three games and the final scores of 30-27, 30-24, 30-24 clearly show that the women put up a good fight.

Anchored defensively by Colleen Chrisco ’03, who had 15 digs, and spurred on by junior Renee Faulkner’s 12 kills, P-P remained competitive despite the loss of several close games. Furthermore, with 18 assists from Jeannie Kenmotsu ’05 and 14 from Alysha Lascano ’05, the Hens showed that teamwork works and that this loss could just have easily been a victory.

“Although we did work hard, we did not play to our full potential” said one player. There is optimism for the next match-up against the Panthers.

“The outcome of our rematch will be different” said Alex Wakeman ‘06.
In the evening contest, the Sagehens proved to be too much for the Caltech Beavers, taking down their opponent 30-12, 30-17, 30-17. The match was the first in SCIAC competition for the Hens and bodes well for future league match-ups. The offense was led by nine kills from Jessica Rybka ’05 and seven from both Renee Faulkner ’04 and Elena Shih ’04. Defensively, Shih led the way with eight digs and Kenmotsu led the team in assists for a second time with nine. The team felt particularly optimistic about the play of its bench.

Despite their losing record, the team feels that their start has been strong and that the season will be successful. Their next match is against rival CMS on Friday, September 27.