CYPRESS, CA- Cypress women's volleyball (10-2, 2-1 OEC) Riverside City College (8-5, 2-1 OEC) in a match sweep, 3-0.
On Friday Night at Don Johnson Court, 8th ranked Cypress hosted 25th ranked Riverside for each squad's third conference meeting. The Tigers came into Friday night's matchup undefeated in the Orange Empire Conference with two wins against Orange Coast and Santiago Canyon. Cypress began the night with a victory against Santiago Canyon and a loss versus Irvine Valley.
Early in the game, many strong strikes were halted with impressive digs by both sides that kept long rallies in the air. Riverside brought a soft dump approach to their attacks which faked out the Chargers on prospective spikes. The Chargers caught on to the tactic and adjusted their defense to take a lead in the first set. Each bench adapted their playing style throughout the fiery contest for conference standing placement.
Near the end of the first set, RCC did not let up until Malana Tuli-Owens spiked the set point to give the Chargers the first set win, 25-19. Throughout the second set, the home team carried a consistent four point lead. Cypress separated with a six point lead before the Tigers hit the set point out of bounds to give the Chargers a 2-0 set advantage.
RCC came out strong in the third set and held an early lead. However, the home team never allowed the Tigers to be comfortable and tied it 13-13. Cypress would take the edge off of a service ace from Shayna Martinez. The Chargers took initiative from there to win the third set 25-20 which earned Cypress their second OEC victory.
Martinez led in kills for the home team with 14, while she also contributed four service aces and 11 digs. Rose Whitter was second in kills with nine and contributed three service aces and ten digs. Hailey Church assisted her team 20 times and also had three service aces and three assists. Cypress continues their conference schedule with two more OEC competitors left in the month of September.
UP NEXT: The Chargers will be on the road for their next matchup against the Pirates on Wednesday, September 27th. The match at Orange Coast College will begin at 6pm.
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