CLAREMONT, Calif. – On the second day of the 2024 regular season, Centre volleyball made program history, achieving their highest ranked victory of all time with a 3-1 win over the no. 3 Stags of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Colonels then completed the Saturday doubleheader sweep with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Pomona-Pitzer.
 
Game 1: Centre 3, #3 CMS 1
 
- The Colonels used an early 9-2 run to pull ahead of the Stags in the opening set and never trailed after that. Centre continued to apply the pressure and won 25-17 with a tandem block by Abby Swartz and Hollye Tate providing the clinching point.
- In the second set, CMS built an early lead and held the Colonels at bay, fighting off a late Centre charge to tie the match with a 25-20 win.
- The third set looked to be a repeat of the second as the Stags again got off to a hot start, but the Colonels battled back to retake the lead thanks to consecutive aces by June Padilla. CMS fought back and regained the advantage at 22-19, but Centre fired back with six straight points to win the set 25-22, with Syd Bietz delivering three kills in the stretch.
- In the fourth set it was the Colonels who grabbed the early edge, leading by as much as 19-13 before CMS scored the next six to tie. The Colonels answered with four straight points of their own and secured the 25-22 victory after Ally Knueven put home the final kill.
 
Game 2: Centre 3, Pomona-Pitzer 1
 
- The host Sagehens held the lead throughout the opening set as they consistently prevented the Colonels from getting over the hump. Centre staged a late charge and eventually tied the score at 23-23, but Pomona-Pitzer scored the final two points to take a 25-23 victory.
- The second set belonged to the Colonels from the jump. Centre got off to an 8-2 lead and never looked back, taking advantage of miscues and cruising to a 25-13 win to tie the match.
- High drama ensued in the pivotal third set as both teams played at a high level, with neither team ever leading by more than three points. The Sagehens fought off a pair of set points before forcing one of their own at 26-25. Knueven tied the game with a clutch kill and then Centre got the job done on defense as Mack Turner teamed with Bietz and Emily Gardner for consecutive blocks that put away a 28-26 victory for the Colonels.
- In the fourth set, a 9-1 Centre blast blew things open early as Turner and Knueven provided three kills each during the rally. That run proved to be the difference maker as Pomona-Pitzer could get no closer than two the rest of the way, with Knueven securing the kill for a second straight match as Centre took it by a score of 25-20.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
 
- After setting a new career high with 15 kills against Whitter, Turner surpassed that total with 18 against CMS. Bietz added 16 kills while Knueven finished with 11. Against Pomona-Pitzer, Tate led five Centre players in double digit kills with a career high 15. Bietz, Swartz and Turner all finished with 13 kills, while Knueven added a dozen more as the Colonels hit .351 for the match.
- Gardner averaged over ten assists per set against CMS as she finished with 44. She was even better against Pomona-Pitzer, finishing with 51 assists, the second most in her career and by far the most in a four-set match.
- Madi Barron delivered a team high 23 digs against the Stags. Padilla added 16, her highest dig total since the 2022 season. Digs were harder to come by against Pomona-Pitzer with both teams hitting efficiently, but Barron led all players with 14, followed by Emersyn Pannell with 16.
- In the Pomona-Pitzer match, Centre finished with a season high 11 blocks, led by 4.5 from Turner.
 
NEXT UP
 
- The Colonels will play in the Transy Invite on Sept. 6-7, beginning with a Friday doubleheader against Illinois College and no. 11 Transylvania.