This was a tough weekend for the Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team. The Sagehens lost three matches over the course of four days, with a tough five game loss bookended by two very similar three game losses.
On Friday, the Sagehens traveled to CMS. The excitement about playing their long time rivals was not enough motivation for the Sagehens, and they lost the match in three straight games, 20-30, 23-30, and 20-30.
Renee Faulkner '04 had double digits with twelve kills and led the team in digs with nine total, while Alysha Lascano led the team in assists that night with 21. Unfortunately, the rest of the P-P squad mustered no more than four kills each. The loss to cross campus rivals in three straight games was disappointing; this was only the beginning of a tough weekend for the volleyball squad.
"We simply did not perform at a level that was comparable to either team," Coach Valerie Cowen said. "Both of those teams have strong attacks, and even though we prepared for that in practice, we did not carry it over enough into the matches."
Whittier was next on the team's schedule. The Poets were only one standing ahead of P-P in the SCIAC conference. The Sagehens began the match looking strong and confident. They went up early in the first game, but were unable to keep the momentum going and were soon forced to battle for the game-winning point. While Whittier had three opportunities to score the game-winning point at the end of the first game, the Sagehens played hard to gain the upperhand. They finally got the 34th point to go up two points and win the first game.
With the first game ending 34-32, the Sagehens lost their momentum going into the second game. They were never being able to regain the lead and lost the second game to the Poets 23-30.
The Whittier team maintained a good defense and made several impressive digs, but they were overwhelmed by the Sagehen offense in the third game. After another tough fight, the Sagehens won the third game 30-27. Unfortunately, after going up 2-1 against the Poets, P-P finished the match against Whittier with a 25-30 loss in the fourth game and an 11-15 loss in the fifth game. The match ended with a 3-2 win over the Sagehens.
Coach Cowan believes this game was more exciting. "We came to play… we did some very good things against Whittier that was much more indicative of what we have been doing in practice," Cowen said. "Our ball control is a definite strength for us…[and] had people stepping and hitting the ball… something we have been emphasizing in practice."
On Tuesday the P-P volleyball team traveled to La Verne for another SCIAC match. La Verne is ranked tenth in the nation in Division III according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The Sagehens had to be ready for a tough match.
P-P fought hard against La Verne, who has not lost a single SCIAC match, or even a game, during the entire season thus far. The Sagehens were defeated in three straight sets, but the first game was a close 25-30. The Hens eventually lost the second game 18-30 and the third, 19-30.
With only three games left in the season, the Sagehens have a record of 6-17 and 2-9 in SCIAC, which, according to Cowan, "is not a direct reflection of how good this team is…[what] this team struggles with is confidence - in themselves and each other. Once that improves, many things will change with this team, and all in a positive direction."
As they finish up the season, the P-P volleyball team will look to finish with some wins by, as Coach Cowan says, "playing hard and leaving everything on the court."
