WHITTIER — It was an emotional night for the Whittier College women's volleyball team and they earned a memorable victory over Occidental in a close, five-set match on Tuesday.

As the Poets (6-6, 3-2 SCIAC) and all of SCIAC volleyball were honoring the passing of fallen Whittier star Alyssa Sialaris, Whittier rallied with fans sporting Sialaris No. 9 shirts and replicas of her signature purple headband, beating Oxy 25-12, 19-25, 18-25, 25-15, 15-4.

Sialaris died unexpectedly last spring in her senior year at the age of 21, shocking the Whittier and SCIAC communities. She was a two-time All-SCIAC selection and also an accomplished track and field athlete as a thrower.

All SCIAC matches on Tuesday honored her legacy with a moment of silence.

Oxy dropped the first set, took the next two and then lost momentum in the final two.

Alayna Rigo, who played with Sialaris for two years, led Whittier with 12 kills.

Madyson Cassidy racked up 69 digs, Dana Michels had a game-high 13 kills and Jessie Altman had 28 assists for the Tigers (8-3, 2-1 SCIAC).

Stephanie Gann had Oxy's best hitting percentage at .143 with eight kills. Kandace Korver had four aces and 21 digs. Natalie Dwulet had four blocks.

The Tigers have their second home match of the season on Friday against defending SCIAC champion and AVCA National No. 5 Cal Lutheran at 7:30 p.m. in Rush Gymnasium.