WHITTIER, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team fought off two set points in the first set before hitting another gear and taking a 28-26, 25-14, 25-19 road win over Whittier on Friday evening. 

With the win, CMS moves to 10-3 overall and 4-0 in the SCIAC, while Whittier slips to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in league play.  Brooke McKee had 14 kills to lead the Athenas, while Dede Carranza had a huge day defensively with 25 digs in three sets. 

CMS trailed 15-12 in the first set, but went ahead 16-15 after three Brenna Bell kills in a 4-0 run. Whittier surged ahead 24-23, but Bell came up with another kill to wipe out the first set point, and McKee followed with another kill for a 25-24 lead. Whittier got the next two points, but after a service error, Dani Beder put CMS in front 27-26, and Whittier had an attacking error to end the set. 

Whittier got an early lead in the second set, using a 5-0 run to go ahead 7-3, but CMS responded in a big way, rattling off 12 points in a row for a 15-7 lead. McKee had three kills during the run, and Beder and Bell capped it off with a block. McKee had two straight kills to make it 24-14, and Bell capped off the set with a kill. 

The Athenas then took control early in the third set, pulling ahead 6-1 after a McKee kill, and then pushing the lead out to 13-4 on a McKee ace. The Poets cut a 20-10 lead down to 23-19 to put some pressure on CMS, but Shae Delany had a kill and Bell and Solvej Eversoll finished off the match with a block.

Georgia McGovern had 31 assists and 10 digs for CMS, while Ashley Murashige added 10 digs. Bell had nine kills and three blocks, while Beder had seven kills and five blocks. 

CMS will be back in action tomorrow when it hosts Chapman for a 4 p.m. contest.