CLAREMONT, Calif. -
Ari Clarkson had a career-high 16 kills as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team put forth one of its most complete efforts of the season, taking a 25-15, 25-10, 25-8 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Tuesday evening at Roberts Pavilion.
With the win, CMS improves to 12-10 on the season and 7-4 in the SCIAC, solidifying its hold on one of the SCIAC Tournament spots by moving two games ahead of Pomona-Pitzer (5-6 in SCIAC play).
Pomona-Pitzer actually got off to a strong start, leading 10-8 in the first set, before the Athenas kicked into high gear, turning the set and the match with a 7-0 run and never looking back.
Solvej Eversoll and
Phoebe Shorney started the run with kills and then combined on a block.
Shae Delany had an ace, and Shorney and Clarkson followed with kills to force a Sagehen timeout.
After Pomona-Pitzer got back within 18-13, CMS had another 4-0 run with
Lauren Staples contributing a kill and a block to pull back away, and then finished off the set 25-15.
CMS led through most of the second set, and then broke it open with an 8-0 run that turned a 16-9 lead into a 24-9 advantage, with Eversoll and Clarkson combining on a pair of blocks in the run and Clarkson adding two kills. Clarkson then finished off the 25-10 win with a kill.
The Athenas then roared out to an 8-2 lead in the third set with a 6-0 run, capped off by Clarkson's kill and block (with
Stella Gajar). A 9-0 run then turned a 12-6 lead into a 21-6 advantage, with Delany recording two straight kills and
Hayden Lin adding a service ace.
Kenzie Smith then had the match-winning kill for a 25-8 win in the third.
Lin led CMS with 11 digs to go along with 20 assists, while Shorney added seven kills and Staples had six. CMS hit .393 on the day, while holding the Sagehens underwater at -.024 (19 kills, 21 errors).
CMS will be back in action on Saturday when it hosts La Verne at 2 p.m. for a Senior Day contest.
