REDLANDS — University of Redlands head volleyball coach Mari Winter probably wasn't that worried when Occidental scored the first point of Saturday night's match at Currier Gymnasium. And she may not have been too concerned when the Tigers went up 4-1 in the first set, stayed up 5-3 and eventually pulled ahead 8-4. But after Oxy rallied to add on three more unanswered points, it was time for Winter to try to stop the bleeding.

She did just that, calling a timeout with her squad down 11-4. But little did she know, the short rest would actually help her opponent far more than her own Bulldogs. In the ensuing action, the black and orange tacked on nine consecutive points to take a commanding 20-4 lead and close out Redlands 25-6 in set number one.

Fittingly, senior middle hitter Alyssa Mort — who tallied six kills in the frame — smashed home the set point off an assist from senior setter Jessie Altman. Both would go on to record match-highs, with Mort knocking down 19 total kills on a .370 hitting percentage and Altman registering 51 assists to go along with six digs. Additionally, sophomore outside hitter Dana Michels put away three service aces in the opening segment.

And though the Tigers would go on to win the contest 3-1, Winter was able to pass the baton of hair pulling to Occidental head coach Heather Collins in set two.

Redlands opened the scoring and the teams swapped points for most of the early going of the frame until the Bulldogs scored four quick ones to take an 11-7 advantage. Ten Tiger errors in the set along with the performances of outside hitters Morgan Buckner and Ashton Martin, who recorded 14 kills apiece on the evening, let the Bulldogs maintain control of the set and not allow Occidental to get within a handful of points.

But the Tigers clawed their way back into the contest, narrowing an 18-13 gap to 19-16 and pulling within one at 21-20 on a block at the net by Megan Olayinka and Stephanie Gann. Gann led the Tigers with three blocks to go along with 17 kills. Michels matched Gann's team-high three kills in the second set, finishing with 13 kills and nine digs. Her third kill of the evening put her over 200 for the season, a vast improvement from 112 a year ago.

However, this time a Winter timeout worked and Redlands hung on to take set number two, 25-22.

But the set break would prove beneficial for the Tigers.

Set three was a hybrid of the first two, with Oxy registering the first point and soon taking a 4-1 lead but then both squads stalemating with exchanged points through the middle going. The Tigers then pulled ahead 18-13 before the Bulldogs responded by scoring five out of the next six points to pull within one, 19-18.

The Tigers remained in good shape, taking a 22-18 advantage. Despite giving a few serves back to Redlands, Occidental reigned supreme 25-23 in the momentum-shifting set number three. Gann and Mort combined for 12 kills in the frame while Cassidy and Altman teamed up for six digs and 17 assists, respectively.

Set four paralleled set three in many ways, including the Tigers opening the scoring and the teams trading points early. Although Oxy was never in any true danger of losing what would go on to be the decisive frame, they did have to fight to remain in contention on a couple occasions.

After being down 10-7, Occidental sent home three straight to tie it up before holding a slight lead from 12-11 to 15-14 until the Bulldogs knotted it and 15 apiece.

The tempo then took a drastic change in the Tigers' favor when senior setter Hana Hunt — one of several players on the Oxy roster redefining her role this season — recorded back-to-back services aces to put her team in the driver's seat, 18-15 as part of a 5-0 run. Hunt had 15 digs on the night.

Up 20-15, plenty of work still remained for Collins' squad. They allowed the Bulldogs to score five-of-six and, following a Michels' service error, found themselves up just 21-20. The back-and-forth pace down the stretch of the frame was eerily reminiscent of the Tigers' Friday night loss at the hands of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, and Collins urged her team to avoid once again falling victim to the inability to close.

As if on cue, Oxy's offense sparked and the Tigers were able to score four of the contest's final five points. Freshman middle blocker Natalie Dwulet recorded the match's last two kills to boost the black and orange to a 25-21 victory. The decisive blow came on an Altman assist after a huge sprawling save by Cassidy. Mort and Michels remained consistent, each slamming down six more kills while Gann contributed five.

The Tigers (10-5, 4-3 SCIAC) return home to Rush Gymnasium to host Chapman University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.