For two seasons, the pairing of Mirka Granoble and Sierra Hernandez-Hardy were mainstays on the Cerritos College volleyball team. The two will continue to be teammates, as they both signed with NAIA school Providence Christian College, which is located in Pasadena. Both were two-year starters, with Granoble earning 2nd Team All-South Coast Conference recognition as a freshman, while Hernandez-Hardy was a 2nd Team selection as a sophomore.

"I decided to go to Providence Christian because I wanted to deepen my faith and get back to meditating and praying more," said Hernandez-Hardy, who will major in Kinesiology and would like to go into physical therapy and work with children or for a pro team. "I did go on a tour (of the school) and I thought the school was wonderful and I enjoyed walking the campus. There was a school out in Oklahoma that had caught my attention before Providence, but I decided not to attend that school because I knew I would be homesick from my family."

"They both played with much more confidence as sophomores than they did as freshmen," said head coach Kari Hemmerling. "Mirka stopped second-guessing herself and became much more offensive as a setter. If she wanted to win the point she wasn't afraid to go for it on two and be aggressive at the net. Sierra was off to a rough start (her) freshman year academically, and over the summer and her sophomore season, she really began to prioritize her school work and her work ethic got kicked up a few notches. She stepped up big-time as a player on the court and became a much better student at the same time. I was very proud of both of them for how they were playing at the end of our season."

Granoble directed the offense with 607 assists on the year, while also adding 58 kills at the net with just 11 errors. She also produced 133 digs, while posting 27 service aces and had 18 blocks. Granoble had a career-high 40 assists against Los Angeles Harbor College and finished with 39 assists in her final game as a Falcon against East Los Angeles College. In all, she had seven matches with more than 30 assists, while she had at least one kill in every match. Granoble posted a season-high six kills against Golden West.

One of her favorite targets was Hernandez-Hardy, who concluded the year with a team-high 206 kills. Effective in the back row, Hernandez-Hardy was second on the team with 185 digs, while also leading the team with 31 service aces. Hernandez-Hardy capped off her Cerritos career with 21 kills and 10 digs against East Los Angeles, while she had 18 in another match against the Huskies and finished with nine matches of double-digit kills. On defense, she had 17 digs against Los Angeles Harbor College and posted 16 against Santa Ana College.

"I think the biggest advantage that Mirka and Sierra have going to Providence is that they have already competed at the college level for two years," added Hemmerling. "They've already taken college courses, so they don't have as steep of a learning curve as the incoming freshman from high school do. I'm hoping they can both step into leadership roles on their new squad and be great examples for the freshmen. I am very excited to follow their season and I can't wait to see what they are able to accomplish the next two years."

"Cerritos prepared me to move on to the four-year level by the counselors help, along with my professors, and even my coaches helped me prepare and study," stated Hernandez-Hardy. "What I will remember most about Cerritos College are my volleyball coaches and the team. We all had our fun moments together on the court and in the locker room."

The duo will be looking to help the Sea Beggars improve on their 15-14 record last season, while the team was seeded #7 for the National Christian College Athletic Association championships. They posted a 2-1 record and reached the semifinals.