Volleyball: Five-set match ends in tough loss

Alexia Torres finished with nine kills in the five-set loss to Pasadena City
Alexia Torres finished with nine kills in the five-set loss to Pasadena City

After battling back from being down a set, the Cerritos College volleyball team extended visiting Pasadena City College to a fifth set before succumbing, 25-23, 12-25, 16-25, 25-18, 11-15. The loss was the fifth in a row for the Falcons (3-6), who will host Southwestern College at 5:00 p.m. next Wednesday.

Trailing two sets to one, Cerritos scored six straight points to go from being down 9-8 to in front 14-9, with sophomore Nadia Arreaga (L.A.C.E.S. HS) recording a pair of service aces. The Falcons maintained their lead throughout the set, with Arreaga and sophomore Jody Suski (Cerritos HS) registering kills to finish off the set.

In the fifth and deciding set, it was tied 5-5 before the Lancers (4-7) scored three straight points and six of the next eight to open up an 11-7 advantage. It became 11-9 after a kill from freshman Sierra Hernandez-Hardy (Bishop Amat HS) and a Lancer attack error. Freshman Alexia Torres (Downey HS) posted a kill, with sophomore Regan Stanton (Lakewood HS/Long Beach CC) following with a service ace to make it 12-11. However, Pasadena City scored the final three points to secure the win.

The PCC tandem of Leslie Rivera and Abby Martin combined for 32 kills, while the Falcons countered with Suski, who had a match-high 21 kills and added 12 digs. Hernandez-Hardy (nne kills, 15 digs) and Torres (nine kills) both played well on the night, with Arreaga checking in with eight kills, eight digs and three service aces. Playing another match without freshman setter Mirka Granoble (Downey HS), the freshman duo of Lizbeth Vega (Paramount HS) and Brooke Winquist (Lakewood HS) combined for 43 assists, with Stanton posting six assists and a match-high 26 digs.

Photos by Daryl Peterson