On Friday, the Cerritos College volleyball team suffered a straight set loss to host Riverside City College, 12-25, 19-25, 20-25. The Falcons (3-2) will now travel to the Santa Barbara City Tournament on Saturday for several matches.
In the first set, Cerritos took a 7-5 lead but saw the Tigers (6-3) score seven straight points and pull away for the win. The Falcons had a negative hitting percentage in two of the three sets, which contributed to their loss. The teams were tied at both 15-15 and 16-16 in the second set, and after a Riverside service error, got as close as 18-17. But just like in the first set, the Tigers finished strong, as they scored seven of the final nine points.
Riverside jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the third set, but the Falcons closed to within 8-7 until the Tigers brought their lead back to 16-10. Cerritos could never get close than three points, and went on to drop the set, 25-20.
Sophomore Jody Suski (Cerritos HS) led the team with four kills, with a trio of players checking in with three each. One of the three, freshman Sierra Hernandez-Hardy (Bishop Amat HS), also added four solo blocks and five digs, while Suski posted a team-high 12 digs. Freshman setter Mirka Granoble (Downey HS) recorded 10 assists, with eight of the nine players that saw action registered at least one dig.