Southwestern University

CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA – Southwestern University Volleyball earned a bounce-back win in the nightcap on the first day of the California Invitational with a 3-0 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Friday. The win moves the Pirates to 1-1 after they dropped their first game of the day with a 3-0 loss to Cal Lutheran to open the season.
 
MATCH ONE | CAL LUTHERAN 3, SOUTHWESTERN 0
 
Despite jumping out to an early 2-0 lead in set one, Southwestern was unable to control the tempo early on as Cal Lutheran responded with an 8-0 run to take an 8-2 lead. The Pirates were able to cut the lead to five at 13-8, but the Regals continued to stack together runs, taking a 21-9 lead. SU reeled off six of the next nine points to cut the lead to 24-15, but Cal Lutheran was able to close the set.
 
Southwestern fell behind early 6-2 in set two and battled back to tie the set at 9-9. The set remained tight as SU and CLU would come even at 13-13. The Regals used multiple runs to secure the second set with a 25-19 victory.
 
The Pirates had their best start of the match in set three as they grabbed an early 5-3 lead. Both teams continued to battle to a 10-10 tie, followed by a 12-10 advantage from SU. Cal Lutheran used an 8-2 run to go up 18-14, but SU was not out as they pulled within a point at 23-22. A Cal Lutheran kill and an attack error secured the set and win for the Regals.

"Cal Lutheran played a clean and well executed offensive plan throughout today's matchup," stated head coach Don Flora. "We needed to put more pressure on them at the service line and they handled that pressure throughout the match. This is the type of match that will help you learn and grow."
 
MATCH TWO | SOUTHWESTERN 3, POMONA-PITZER 0
 
Southwestern came back with vengeance in the nightcap, as they cruised to a 3-0 win after a tight first set against the Sagehens. In a set that saw seven ties, it was the Pirates who pulled out the 25-23 come form behind set win. With the set tied at nine apiece, Pomona-Pitzer took a 15-11 lead before SU battled back to tie it at 19-19 before one final tie at 21-21.
 
The Pirates scored three straight points, including a service ace from Carly Caraway, to take a 24-21 advantage before the Sagehens scored two points to pull within one at 24-23. The Pirates were able to close the set with a kill from Evamarie Planchet to secure the 25-23 victory. Planchet recorded 10 of her 15 kills in the set.
 
SU continued its strong start in set two as they downed the Sagehens 25-13. Pomona-Pitzer grabbed an early 7-6 lead, but a 6-1 run gave the Pirates a 12-8 lead. SU tacked on a 7-4 run to take a 19-11 lead before going on to secure the 25-13 set two win.
 
The Pirates jumped out to a 5-0 lead in set three behind three kills and a service ace from Caraway. Pomona-Pitzer climbed back to tie it at 6-6 followed by multiple back and forth runs that saw several tie scores. With the set tied at 16 apiece, SU used a 4-1 run to take a 20-17 lead, and was able to secure the 25-20 win to secure the match victory.

"Having the opportunity to get back on the court a few hours later is always a good thing for our program when we are focused and we raise our competitive level. It makes for a more in-depth level of execution," echoed Flora. "We did a much better job with our first touches in this match: serving, passing and quality of digs. This was proven by hitting .330 for the match. Tatum Ahrens and Evamarie Planchet handled their load a lot better in this match. It was great to get contributions from the entire team and see them competing at a high-level."

 
GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Tatum Ahrens (21), Evamarie Planchet (17) and Alta Wilson (11) registered double-digit kills across both of today's matches. Planchet recorded 15 of her 17 against Pomona-Pitzer.
• The Pirates hit .330 against Pomona-Pitzer.
• Kendall Jurgens and Caroline Srubar each recorded five blocks across today's matches. All five of Srubar's blocks came against Pomona-Pitzer, while all five of Jurgens' were versus Cal Lutheran.
• Izzy Rodriguez registered 27 digs, including 15 against Cal Lutheran and 12 against the Sagehens.
• Carly Caraway registered two service aces in both matches, giving her four on the day.
• The Pirates recorded nine blocks against Pomona-Pitzer.

 
UP NEXT 
The Pirates will close the California Invitational tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. CT as they take on No. 6 University of La Verne.