Using a balanced offensive attack, the Cerritos College volleyball team won their third match in a row, defeating visiting Santa Ana College, 25-15, 19-25, 25-21, 29-27 on Friday. The Falcons (4-2) will travel to Golden West College on Wednesday for a 5:00 p.m., which will be their final non-conference match.

After the two teams each picked up a set, Cerritos was able to turn to a trio of sophomores for timely kills to hold off the hard-charging Dons (1-6). Brooke Winquist (Carlsbad International School, Czechia) and Alexia Torres (Downey HS) each finished with 12 kills, with Sierra Hernandez-Hardy (Bishop Amat HS) slamming home 10 kills. The Falcons pulled out the third set and found themselves in a battle in the fourth set, with both teams serving for set point twice.

Trailing 27-26, the Falcons received a service ace from freshman Marissa Reyna (Norwalk HS), while a rotation error gave Cerritos match point. On the play, the back row kept the rally alive until Winquist was able to drive home the winning kill.

Sophomore setter Mirka Granoble (Downey HS) directed the offense with 31 assists to go along with a pair of kills and seven digs. Hernandez-Hardy was also effective in the back row with a team-leading 16 digs, with sophomore libero Lizbeth Vega (Paramount HS) also posting 16 digs. Reyna came on to play a solid match and recorded 14 digs and a team-leading four service aces, while freshman Andrea Garcia (Bellflower HS) was a contributing factor in with win with 10 digs and four kills in just two games.

Torres and Winquist combined for seven block assists, with Vega also registering a trio of service aces.

Photos by Daryl Peterson