CYPRESS, CA- Cypress women's volleyball (17-10, 9-7 OEC) ended their season with a postseason loss against the Orange Coast Pirates (20-5, 12-4 OEC) on Tuesday, November 22nd in the second round of the CCCAA SoCal Regional Playoffs, 3-1.
The Chargers entered the postseason with a week's rest by being the last team in the bracket to qualify for a first round bye. Ahead of the matchup, Cypress was ranked #12 and Orange Coast was placed #5 in the CCCAA SoCal Championship playoffs. The Chargers were coming off of a 2022 season in which they split the two matchups with the Pirates. Cypress lost the first game 3-1 but defeated Orange Coast a month later at home in five sets 3-2.
In the first set, Cypress held the lead but allowed Orange Coast to jump ahead late. The Chargers were beaten at the top of the net and lost the opening set 25-21. The visiting team went down fast and early in the second set and never recovered, losing 25-14 and went down 2-0 in the game. The Cypress women's volleyball team did bounce back however in the third set. The Chargers forced the Pirates into a fourth set by winning 25-20. Cypress lost momentum and fell short in the fourth and final set losing 25-20. Orange Coast won the game 3-1 and ended the Chargers season.
In the final match of the season, Shayna Martinez continued her dominant stretch and led the team with 19 kills and 15 digs. Martinez had an impressive year leading not only the Chargers but the entire Orange Empire Conference with 410 kills. In the conference, she also placed third in kills per set and third in digs. Jubilee Allen dominated the top of the net throughout the year by leading the team and the OEC in blocks per set. Zoe Munn found herself on the OEC individual leaders list as well being second in both digs and digs per set.
Within the conference, Cypress highlighted the regular season team stat lines. The Chargers led the OEC with 61 set wins off of their conference leading 753 kills. Leading the OEC with total attacks, the team was also first in assists and digs on the year. Though the team qualified for a first round bye, Cypress suffered their third consecutive postseason loss. They have not surpassed round three of the CCCAA playoffs since 2018. However, after an impressive 2022 campaign, only four sophomores will be moving on. With an early postseason exit, thirteen freshmen will be looking to learn and lead the team into the 2023 season.
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