By Wes McCurtis
CYPRESS, CA – The No. 8 Cypress College women's volleyball team (13-1, 6-0 OEC) swept the visiting No. 25 Riverside Tigers (12-4, 5-2 OEC) in a #1 vs. #2 conference matchup on Wednesday night (25-12, 25-17, 26-24).
Freshman middle blocker Samantha Madrid led the Chargers with 16 kills in 30 attempts while Brianna Johnson finished with a team leading 6 blocks.
The Chargers jumped out to an early 13-4 lead in the first set as Samantha Martinez served up 6 straight points, including 2 of her 4 aces. Riverside was unable to recover and went on to lose the first set 25-12. Cypress continued rolling in the second set. Leading 20-16, Johnson notched back-to-back kills followed by a block to give the Chargers a 23-16 lead. Cypress was able to hold off the Tigers and win the set 25-17.
The third set was the most exciting of the night as both teams put on a show. Tied at 8 apiece, Riverside freshman Kelly Russell stuffed a Madrid attack attempt at the net to give the Tigers the lead. The Chargers' Ateya Allen answered with a block of her own, followed by 1 of her 2 kills to regain the lead for Cypress. Both teams traded points and found themselves tied at 19 apiece. Madrid rallied 3 straight points for the Chargers, including a block and back-to-back kills. Freshman Toso Leae followed that up with an ace, bringing the Chargers to match point. The Tigers refused to let up and rallied to score 5 unanswered points to tie the game at 24 apiece. However, the Chargers were able to keep their poise and close out the match with an ace from Paige Buchanan to win 26-24.
The Chargers remain in sole possession of 1st place heading into a huge match on the road against 2nd place Golden West College this Friday, October 14 at 6:00pm.
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