With every point at a premium, the Cerritos College volleyball team was able to come away with a hard-fought 26-24, 25-23, 27-25 non-conference win at Saddleback College on Friday. The win by the Falcons (5-2) snapped a four-match winning streak for the Bobcats (4-2). The #20-ranked team in the state will now travel to San Bernardino Valley College (5-4) next Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. in their final non-conference match before they start South Coast Conference play.

The Falcons were able to come up with big points in crucial moments of the match, while at the same time, taking advantage of as many Saddleback errors as possible. Cerritos also held their own at the net and turned away the Bobcats, who came in with more size. It was the back row defense and superb passing that helped propel the Falcons to securing key points on their way to the win.

Showing her dominance at the net, sophomore Sydney May (Los Alamitos HS/UC Santa Cruz) led the Falcons with 14 kills, while she also dished out 12 assists from the setter position. She was joined by sophomore Monserrat Rodriguez (Gahr HS/Long Beach City College), who added 10 kills, with the Falcons hitting .323 on the night.

Sophomores Jasmine Soto-Castro (Schurr HS) and Lillianna Peterson (California HS) combined for 13 kills, with Soto-Castro checking in with nine digs and Peterson accounting for four blocking assists. As a team, Cerritos had 61 digs and received a team-high from sophomore libero Priscilla Castillo (Schurr HS), who had 17.

Photos courtesy of Brad Hoiseth, Saddleback College SID