On the strength of their 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 win over visiting San Bernardino Valley College, the Cerritos College volleyball team has matched the 2015 team's 5-0 start to a season. The Falcons will host Rio Hondo College in their South Coast Conference opener next Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in a chance to get off to the program's best start since the mid-1990s. The team has yet to lose a set this season and are one of only four remaining undefeated teams in Southern California.

It was a back-and-forth match all night against the Wolverines (4-4), with Cerritos coming on strong late in all three sets to come away with the win.

Down 18-15 in the first set, kills by freshmen Leeya Rubio (Schurr HS) and Lillianna Peterson (California HS), along with an attack error allowed the team to draw back into a tie coming out of a timeout. Peterson and freshman Jasmine Soto-Castro (Schurr HS) kills, along with a service ace from freshman Giovanna Gomez (Bellflower HS) put the team up, 22-19, while sophomores Kaydence Portillo (Bell Gardens HS) and Jayda Harris-Amete (La Mirada HS) locked down the first set with consecutive kills.

The second set was tied five times early on, but once the Falcons took the lead, they never relinquished it. Soto-Castro and Peterson kills were sandwiched between at attack error to give Cerritos a 14-11 advantage. The teams continued to trade points, but when the match was tied at 21-21, the team turned to Soto-Castro and Peterson for two crucial kills. The set point came when Rubio caught San Bernardino Valley off-guard and she recorded the kill.

With hopes of not being forced to play a fourth set, the Falcons called timeout after falling behind, 18-14 in the third set. It was a well-placed time to regroup, as the team responded by scoring the next six points, which included three attack errors and a service ace from sophomore Madison Borja (La Mirada HS). Locked in a 20-20 tie, sophomore Erykah Scott (Bellflower HS) and Rubio recorded kills - it was the sixth of the match for Rubio - while freshman Priscilla Castillo (Schurr HS) added an ace. Harris-Amete finished the match with her 13th kill of the night.

Along with the 13 kills from Harris-Amete, the team received nine kills from Peterson, while Soto-Castro finished with nine kills, 12 digs and three assists. Rubio directed the offense with 36 assists, while adding eight digs, with Castillo extended points with her stellar play in the back row and led both teams with 27 digs.

Photos by Daryl Peterson