Volleyball Goes Winless at Pacific Coast Classic, McMillen Hammers 53 Kills in Four Matches

It was a busy opening weekend for the Whittier College Poets volleyball team as they played four matches in two days at the Pacific Coast Classic, hosted by Pomona-Pitzer on September 7 and 8.  The Poets lost 30-11, 30-23, 30-17  in their opening match against North Central College (Ill.) and 30-26, 27-30, 30-27, 30-19 to UC-Santa Cruz in the day one nightcap.  On day two, Whittier lost 30-22, 30-22, 30-10 to Linfield University and 30-21, 30-26, 30-20 to Thomas More College in the final match of the Classic.

Against North Central, Shanell McMillen led the Poets offensively with eleven kills.  Victoria Larios was credited with nine assists.    Jennifer Salas finished the match with seven digs, while Megan Wingo and Bibi Gonzalez each had five.

In the four-game match with UC Santa Cruz, it was McMillen again who led the Poet attack with 12 kills.  She also finished with ten digs.  Cassidy Lake and Gonzalez added nine and eight kills, respectively.  Gonzales also had 12 digs, six assists and two service aces.  Salas had a team-high 37 digs and added two aces.  Larios was credited with 17 assists and pitched in with 11 digs.  Wingo recorded three solo blocks and four block assists.

In the day two opener with Linfield, McMillen had 12 kills and two aces.  Gonzalez had seven kills in the match.  Larios and Christa Rainville finished with eleven and nine assists, respectively. 

In the final match of the weekend with Thomas More, McMillen recorded 18 kills and nine digs.  Larios had six kills.  Rainville led the Poets with 15 assists.  Salas and Gonzalez were the only Poets with double-digit digs, picking up 14 and 11, respectively.

The Poets continue non-conference play on September 11 against Chapman University in Orange, Calif.  The match is scheduled to begin at 7pm.