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The Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team_x000D_
is ready to continue spiking their way toward world domination. Coach Valerie Cowan,_x000D_
beginning her tenth year with the P-P program, oversees a deep and_x000D_
talented squad led by senior captains Heidi Leonard PO ’12 and Jordan Hammond_x000D_
PO ’12.
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Middle blocker Kirea Mazzolini PO_x000D_
’15 describes the team as a close-knit group led by a velvet-hammered coach.
“She can give you ‘that look’ when you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be,” Mazzolini said, “but she’s like a teddy bear inside.”
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who led last year’s team with 548 digs – volleyball-speak for saving a spiked ball – is on_x000D_
pace to break the P-P career record. Leonard has high hopes for this year’s team.
“We have the most collective talent we’ve ever had since I’ve been at Pomona,” she said with her chin held high.
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Sagehens’ depth and balance has already come in handy: college volleyball is a_x000D_
deceptively high-contact sport with a lot of repetitive motions. Injuries have already affected the team by forcing outside_x000D_
hitter Carolyn Hite PO ’15 from the game for a brief period.
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Last season’s team finished fourth in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic_x000D_
Conference (SCIAC), and most of the women return to the court this year. As the libero, or defensive specialist, Leonard_x000D_
anchored the Sagehen defense, which was a significant strength last_x000D_
season. The team average of 20.58 digs per set was the fourth highest rate in the_x000D_
nation among Division III schools.
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On the attack, setter Kenzie Aries_x000D_
PZ ’12 and outside hitter Hammond will assume leading roles. They are joined by freshman standout_x000D_
Ellen Yamasaki PZ ’15 who has earned 96 kills, or heavy-handed spikes, at a rate of 2.91 per set.
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The volleyball team’s season got_x000D_
off to a tough start, with a cumulative record of two wins and six losses in the Pacific_x000D_
Coast Classic and Cal Lutheran’s Cal-Lu-fornia Invitational. Although the Sagehens dropped all of_x000D_
their matches at the Cal-Lu-fornia Invitational, there was a silver lining.
“It really helped us work out kinks,” Mazzolini said.
A grueling travel_x000D_
schedule that called for four matches in two days and the losses of_x000D_
some key team members to injury left captains Leonard and Hammond confident that there is_x000D_
plenty of room for improvement once conference play rolls around.
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The Sagehens will play the first of_x000D_
14 conference games at Whittier College on Saturday before hosting rival CMS_x000D_
Tuesday night at 7:30. The top four teams in the SCIAC will advance to a conference_x000D_
tournament that will determine who receives the SCIAC’s automatic NCAA_x000D_
tournament bid.
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Despite all the talk of kills and_x000D_
digs, the women’s volleyball team will not hurt you, and welcomes your_x000D_
support. Matches are best of five_x000D_
sets, and usually last about an hour and a half to two hours. Most are on_x000D_
Tuesdays and Fridays, naturally forming a pleasant interlude between dinner and_x000D_
the scholarly pursuits that characterize Friday nights. The level of play in the P-P volleyball_x000D_
program has never been higher, and it’s about time student support reflected_x000D_
that.
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