Entering the week, the Cerritos College volleyball team cracked the state's Top 20 after getting off to a 3-0 start. Next up for the #20-ranked Falcons was #17-ranked Palomar College, who presented yet another much taller opponent. Cerritos appeared to be on their way to another huge win, as they took the first two sets, 25-19, 25-16. However, Palomar (6-1) found their net strength and went on to win the next three sets and the match, 14-25, 21-25, 9-15. This Friday, Cerritos will play a pair of matches at San Diego Mesa College, as they take on the host Olympians, followed by a match against MiraCosta College.

The shots were dropping early for Cerritos, as they battled back from a 12-8 deficit and eventually pulled ahead, 17-15 after an attack error and a service ace from sophomore Evelyn Soto-Castro (Schurr HS). Forced to make several lineup adjustments with the absence of freshman outside hitter Elizabeth Beltran (Santa Fe HS), Soto-Castro moved to an outside hitter position, with freshman Emma Rivera (Mayfair HS) assuming the setting duties.

A pair of kills from freshman Jordin Lewis (Warren HS) and a service ace from freshman Gabriella Colombo (Cerritos HS) put the team in front, 24-18 before Rivera recorded the final point with a kill to give Cerritos an early lead.

Capitalizing on negative hitting percentage by the Comets in the second set, the Falcons started to pull away in the second set after holding a close 13-11 lead. Multiple kills from freshman Tiffany Teats (Warren HS) and sophomore Daniela Luna (Walnut HS/Riverside City College) allowed the Falcons to grab the second set and a convincing 2-0 lead in sets.

But just as quickly as Cerritos took their lead, Palomar suddenly found their success at the net and the momentum started to shift. They leaned on Reese Maffit to help spark their comeback in the third set, while Emma Bambe was another threat that the Falcons could not counter against. The rallies became longer and while Cerritos was able to come up with acrobatic digs, they just didn't have the firepower at the net.

Lewis and Teats each registered 15 kills for the Falcons, while Luna contributed eight kills and four blocks. As a team, the Comets had 20 block assists to go with a pair of solo blocks, which allowed them to make their comeback. Rivera played a stellar first three sets and dished out 25 assists to go with her four kills and five digs, with Soto-Castro returning to the setter position and concluded with 19 assists, along with 28 digs and seven kills. Freshman Roselyn Tobie (Maxine Water HS), who opened the match as the libero, but moved to the outside, shared the team lead with 28 digs, with Colombo assuming libero responsibilities in the final two sets and posted 19 digs.

Photos by Daryl Peterson