Cypress – The women's volleyball team dropped a tough four set match (19-25, 27-25, 25-21, 27-25) to the visiting Orange Coast Pirates in the opening game of conference play on Friday evening. The loss was the first of the season for the Chargers as they fell to 9-1 (0-1 OEC), while OCC improved to 7-0 (1-0 OEC).

Cypress led 13-11 in the first set before a 7-0 run by OCC put them ahead at 18-13. The Pirates would not relinquish their lead, going on to win set one 25-19. In set two, OCC had its biggest lead at 20-13, but a 9-2 run by the Chargers would tie the game at 22 all. The teams continued to trade points, but Orange Coast ended up the victor by a score of 27-25.

The Chargers led early in set three, but the Pirates battled back to tie the game on several occasions. With the game tied at 18, Cypress would use a 5-0 run to lead 23-18 and eventually win 25-21.

In the fourth set, Cypress led 6-1, but a 5-0 run by OCC would tie the game at six. The Chargers would respond and lead by as many as five before Orange Coast tied the game at 23 all. The teams battled back and forth for each point down the stretch, but OCC would pull off the win, 27-25, to take a 3-1 match victory.

Lindsey Ray led the Chargers with 22 kills, while Ivana Escobedo added 11. Four players had double-digit digs as Makayla Taylor leading the way with 31.

Cypress will travel to Fullerton for its next game (Wednesday, Oct. 8) before returning home on Friday, Oct. 10 to face Golden West.