CLAREMONT, Calif.— The Cal Lutheran Regals volleyball team went to five sets for the fifth time this year and came up short to the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens 3-2 (24-26, 26-24, 25-17, 16-25, 8-15) Saturday at Voelkel Gym.
Cal Lutheran falls to 10-8 and 4-3 in SCIAC play. They are 0-5 in matches that go all five sets. Pomona-Pitzer gets back to .500 at 7-7 and is now 5-1 in conference play.
Amanda Roberts was tied for the most kills during the match with 15. She hit with a .314 attack percentage. She added two block assists, seven digs and two service aces.
Paris Dosch was next with 10 kills. She was impressive around the net and recorded five block assists. Maci Haddad and Sarah Hein both added six kills.
Steph Rolfson put up 32 assists and recorded four digs. Carly Rose Howard had a match-high 21 digs. Hein also added double-digit digs with 14.
The first set showed the tone for the entire match. The games were competitive and close, with both teams showing heart and resilience. The first set had nine ties and three lead changes. Pomona-Pitzer took the early lead as they defeated the Regals 26-24.
Cal Lutheran fought back in the second set and took a quick 5-2 lead. Hein recorded a kill and then served an ace for back-to-back points, while Haddad and Roberts added kills. The second set continued with the trend of the first set and was tied up at 9. The Regals went on a run, again, as Lauren Heller served back-to-back service aces.
With CLU up 16-15, the Reals scored four straight to take the advantage. Pomona-Pitzer was right there with the answer and tied up the set at 22. With the score knotted up at 24, the Regals made great plays at the net and forced the Sagehens into attacking errors. CLU won set two 26-24 and tied the match at 1 set apiece.
Runs became a real big thing in the third set. The score was tied at 6 and CLU used a 7-1 stretch and took a 13-7 lead. The run was highlighted by a kill from Dosch, a block assist from Hein and Haddad and then two kills from Haddad.
Pomona-Pitzer cut the lead to three (16-13), and CLU answered with yet another run. The 5-1 run put the Regals up 21-14. The third set ended the same way the second did, with two attacking errors from the Sagehens. CLU took the third set 25-17 and a 2-1 match lead. Pomona-Pitzer had an answer of their own and won the fourth set 25-16 and pushed the match to a fifth and final set.
The fifth set was not the start Cal Lutheran was looking for as the Sagehens put up the points early and often. Pomona-Pitzer was up 8-2 when the teams flipped sides. The Sagehens didn't let the Regals back in the game and won the set 15-8 and the match 3-2.
Next up for Cal Lutheran is the defending National Champion, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Regals are on the road Thursday at 7 p.m.
Box Score: PP 3, CLU 2
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director