POMONA, CALIF. – The Union College women's volleyball team battled back to earn a split on day one of the Pacific Coast Classic on Friday, defeating Occidental College in a five-set thriller following a tough 3-1 loss to Brandeis University earlier in the day.
 
Sophomore Lara Atalay led the attack for Union (1-1) with 35 kills and a .261 hitting percentage in the nine sets, while also chipping in 31 digs. Classmate Gillian Gore put down 29 kills and dug out a team-leading 40 balls, while fellow sophomore Sage Shimamoto added a team-best 71 assists in eight sets of work.
 
Brandeis 3, Union 1 (25-23, 16-25, 25-20, 25-23)
 
The Dutchwomen battled hard but came up a few points short in the first match of the day and the season, falling by a 3-1 score to the Judges. Atalay and Gore led all players with 17 kills and 17 digs apiece for the match, while Shimamoto recorded 48 assists. Sophomore Julia Louis also reached double figures with 11 kills and classmate Kaylee Velasquez chipped in a career-best 16 digs in four sets as well.
 
Union 3, Occidental 2 (19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 19-25, 15-7)
 
Union rebounded nicely in its second match of the day, hitting .270 as a team and putting down 65 total kills in a five-set victory over Occidental. Again Atalay led the way, recording a career-high for the second straight match with a match-best 18 kills to go with 14 digs for a second straight double-double.
 
Four Union players reached double figures in kills on the afternoon, including a second straight double-double for Gore with 12 kills and a match-leading 23 digs. Louis and fellow sophomores Katie Moss chipped in 12 and 10 kills, respectively, with Moss doing so on efficient .562 hitting.
 
Junior Maegan Teets also picked up a double-double with a career-best 31 assists and 10 digs to go with four kills, while Shimamoto added 23 assists as well.
 
Union will be back in action tomorrow for the second and final day of the Pacific Coast Classic, taking on Redlands and Saint Scholastica in Claremont.