WHITTIER, Calif. - The Whittier volleyball team fought off six set points in the first set for a 33-31 win and went on to take a 3-0 victory over No. 19 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Tuesday evening at Dave Jacobs Court. 

With the loss, the Athenas slip to 17-7 overall and 11-4 in the SCIAC, staying in second place three games behind No. 1 La Verne, which also fell on Tuesday in five sets to Redlands. Whittier improves to 17-9 overall and 9-5 in the SCIAC, securing a postseason bid after its 33-31, 25-20, 25-16 win. 

Shae Delany and Brooke McKee each had nine kills for CMS, while Phoebe Shorney finished with eight. 

CMS led 23-19 in the first set after a kill from Solvej Eversoll, but Whittier was able to tally the next four points to pull even at 23-23. A Shorney kill gave CMS its first set point, but Malena The answered for the Poets. McKee had a kill to erase a Whittier set point and tie the score 25-25, then combined with Stella Gajar block for a 26-25 lead. 

Whittier fought off that set point, and then answered a Gajar kill to tie it 27-27, a Delany kill to tie it 28-28, a Ryan kill to tie it 29-29, and two straight Shorney kills to tie it at 30-30 and 31-31. The Poets then used a service ace from The to go ahead, and took advantage of their second set point for a 33-31 win. 

A Skye Dunn ace tied the second set 16-16 after a 3-0 CMS run, but Whittier went back ahead 20-17 after a 4-1 run. A McKee kill made it 21-19, but Whittier tallied the next three points to go ahead 24-19, and earned a 25-20 win. 

McKee had two straight kills to get CMS within 11-10 in the third, but Whittier opened up a 17-12 lead, and then answered a Samantha Riter kill with a 3-0 run to go ahead 20-13. CMS wasn't able to put a late run together, as it dropped the final set 25-16. 

The Athenas will look to get back on track on Friday night with a Sixth Street Rivalry match with Pomona-Pitzer at 7 p.m., which will also be Senior Day for McKee and Shelby McIlroy.