Relying on a quartet of players at the net, along with a stellar defensive performance, the Cerritos College volleyball team recorded a thrilling 25-18, 25-23, 25-21 win over Pasadena City College on Wednesday. The South Coast Conference crossover victory was the 11th in a row for the state's #11-ranked Falcons (15-2), who resume South Division play on Friday at 6:00 p.m. when they host El Camino College. With four divisional games remaining, Cerritos holds a one-game lead over rival Long Beach City College.

In the first set, the Falcons jumped out to a 9-2 lead, and after the Lancers (12-12) started closing the gap, three kills from sophomore Monserrat Rodriguez (Gahr HS/Long Beach City College) helped the lead get back up to 16-8. It was a 22-17 advantage until sophomore Lillianna Peterson (California HS) slammed home a kill, with sophomore Sydney May (Los Alamitos HS/UC Santa Cruz) capping off the set with a kill.

Another quick start in the second set allowed Cerritos to open an early 7-2 lead, as sophomore Jasmine Soto-Castro (Schurr HS) recorded three kills during that span. It was an 11-3 lead until Pasadena City started to make their move, as they got to within 14-11. The Lancers took their first lead of the night at 17-16, with the teams tied from 17-17 through 20-20. A Peterson kill and PCC error gave Cerritos a 22-20 lead, and after the teams traded the next five points, Soto-Castro came through with the set point to give Cerritos a 2-0 set lead.

The largest lead of the night for the Lancers came in the third set, as they were up by two points three separate times. Down 19-17, Peterson came through with another huge kill, with Rodriguez recording a pair of kills down the stretch to put the Falcons up 22-20. They closed out the match on two consecutive kills from May, with Soto-Castro finishing off the Lancers with her 12th kill of the match.

Along with her 12 kills (on just one error), Soto-Castro added seven digs, with May (12 kills, 18 assists, 12 digs), Peterson (11 kills, three block assists) and Rodriguez (11 kills, seven digs) accounting for the majority of the offensive attack, while adding defensive prowess. Sophomore setter Leeya Rubio (Schurr HS) dished out 17 assists, while sophomore libero Priscilla Castillo (Schurr HS) accounted for 17 digs and five assists.