The Hens’ home coop was filled with chirps on Tuesday, Oct. 1 when Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) volleyball hosted Occidental College for their first SCIAC game hosted at home. The Sagehens swept the Tigers in three sets, securing them a crucial win early in the season.
While the Tigers took the first point of the night, the Hens soon got their footing as Jenny Jenks CGU ’25, Paige Mountanos PO ’26, Hanna Chen PZ ’26 and Kellan Hayes PO ’25 scored early points to help the team to a 9-6 lead.
Though the Tigers tried to make a dent into the scoreboard, the Sagehens continually responded.
According to Samantha Grabb PO ’27, game plan and strategy helped lead the Sagehens to their success and eventual sweep.
“I think that the key to today was playing clean,” Grabb said. “Running our free ball plays, being in-system and being calm, even when things are chaotic.”
Jenks finished off the first set for the Sagehens, scoring two aces in a row to seal the set 25-17. In addition to these two important points, Jenks had 32 assists and 10 digs across the three sets.
With momentum going into their next set, the Sagehens flew to an early 13-6 lead before securing another set victory, 25-14.
The Tigers came into the third set with energy, taking a 15-11 lead to switch the momentum. Both teams exchanged points on the scoreboard in a tense set, but Occidental struggled to manage balls from Hayes and Mountanos, who had 21 combined kills over the three sets. The Hens eked out a 26-24 score to finish off the Tigers.
According to Sagehens head coach Valerie Townsend, the win was the result of a collective performance led by standout performances from a few players.
“This was a true team win with contributions from several players,” Townsend said. “Kellan Hayes had a really nice match. Corrina Benson [PO ’27] did a great job leading the defense and setter Jenny Jenks did a great job spreading our offense.”
Grabb gave special props to Chen, as she stepped up against the Tigers and changed her normal position line. Chen had four aces and nine digs on the night.
“A memorable moment was when Hanna, our DS who usually plays in the back row, went front row because we ran out of subs and she ate,” Grabb said.
Defensive specialist Mackenzie Bravo Woo PO ’27 expressed her excitement for the rest of the season after their promising sweep against the Tigers.
“We’re feeling really inspired for our next games,” Woo said. “[We’re] ready to take on those next teams.”
After their win against the Tigers, Townsend expressed confidence in the team as they continue to dive deeper into conference play.
“Every victory is a great step forward for us,” Townsend said. “I felt the team worked very well together and was working on applying things we have been doing in practice. We are working on cleaning up our game and reducing unforced errors, and I felt we did a much better job of that last night.”
After their decisive sweep against Occidental, P-P collected three more wins against Caltech, Whittier College and Chapman University.
The Hens will attempt to continue this streak when they face Cal Lutheran at home Friday, Oct. 11.
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