On Sept. 29, Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) women’s volleyball swept rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) 3-0 at Voelkel Gymnasium, the team’s first straight-set win over the Athenas since 2013 and its first win over CMS since 2024. With this Sixth Street rivalry victory, the Sagehens moved to 7-8 on the season, and 1-2 in conference play.
P-P controlled set one from the start. Kills from Ella Mesard PO ’28 and Anna Krebs PZ ’27 pushed the Sagehens to an 18-12 lead, but the Athenas clawed back to tighten the set at 19-18. From there, the Sagehens scored six of the final seven points, with Paige Butler PO ’28 closing out the 25-19 win on a kill. CMS hit just 0.071 in the opener with nine attack errors.
In set two, back-to-back kills from Mesard put P-P up 20-18, and an ace from outside hitter Matsa Shi PO ’28 followed by a kill from Samantha Grabb PO ’27 were highlights in the 3-0 run. Kayla Thienprasiddhi PO ’30 brought the Sagehens to set point with a kill, and Grabb ended a back-and-forth affair with another to win 25-21.
Set three proved the closest of the night, with nine lead changes. With P-P up by one, Shae Delany CM ’27 went down the line for a kill to knot it at 25-25. The Athenas outhit PP 0.229 to 0.220 in the set, but a kill from CC Porter PZ ‘30 and a CMS service error made it 26-25 for the Sagehens, and Shi finished things off with a kill to secure the 27-25 win and the Sagehen’s first sweep of CMS in 13 years.
For Thienprasiddhi, the win reflected the team’s preparation through film and their commitment to the fundamentals, keeping them composed in one of the biggest games of the season so far.
“Just following the game plan was really helpful, and I think just focusing on the basics,” she said.
In a season of ups and downs, the win was also the clearest sign yet of the team’s progress.
“We really played as a cohesive unit throughout the entire game, not just a few sets,” Thienprasiddhi said.
That cohesion proved vital as P-P’s rotation stretched thin. Grabb said the team ran out of substitutions, prompting her to meet the moment with her first serve this season.
“We ran out of subs, so I served, which I don’t typically do,” Grabb said. “The first thing I did when I got back row was I said to Matsa, ‘What’s the defense? Tell me what to do.’”
Given the heightened expectations of the Sixth Street matchup, the team made sure to stay composed through bench worries and late game rallies.
“We welcomed the pressure, and when it got tight, we stayed in it and kept fighting,” Grabb said. “This was one of the first times this season that we felt like we were firing on all cylinders and working cohesively as a team.”
The win also showcased the Sagehens’ younger players, a point Grabb tied to one of the team’s core values: “mudita.” A term rooted in Buddhist philosophy, Grabb explained “mudita” as “having joy in other people’s success.” The term was brought into team discussions by a senior who graduated last year.
“It’s awesome to be a senior and to be able to help mold that environment, and it’s awesome to see people come in and thrive there,” Grabb said.
For CMS, the loss presented an opportunity to sharpen their approach for the season as a whole.
“We all came to the consensus that no successful team doesn’t have adversity,” said Skye Dunn CM ’29. “I think to some extent, this needed to happen to push us at practice, games, outside of volleyball, et cetera.”
With the extra motivation, the Athenas have their eyes set on the national championship. To achieve that long-term goal, they’re focusing on the short-term benchmarks along the way.
“Step one, winning our SCIAC tournament,” Dunn said, “And then winning regionals, and then after regionals, winning the NCAA tournament. Us facing challenges doesn’t make our goals smaller. It just makes us want to push ourselves more and achieve those goals.”
Looking ahead, the Sagehens travel to take on Cal Lutheran on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m., while CMS returns to the court Saturday, traveling to La Verne for a 2 p.m. contest.
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