Clark’s Double-Double Sparks Warriors to Tournament Final
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rio Hondo (14-11, 8-8) | 20 | 11 | 8 | 0 |
|
El Camino (20-5, 15-1) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Mikayla Clark posted her 15th double-double of the season as No. 1 seed El Camino College stormed past No. 4 Rio Hondo 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-8) in the semifinals of the South Coast Conference Tournament Friday night at Hall of Champions Gym at Long Beach City College.
Clark hammered down a match-high 19 kills and added 12 digs to lead the Warriors to a dominant victory. Caitlin Donatucci dished out 36 assists and added nine digs of her own with four aces while Cassidy Crosby and Jessica Villasenor had 10 digs apiece. Kelly Donatucci paced the defense with 19 digs.
Friday night's match was a stark contrast to the last time the two teams met at the ECC North Gym when the Roadrunners jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Warriors came back for a reverse sweep. On Friday, the Warriors had to battle in a tough first set but then dominated the final two frames to advance to the SCC Tournament final on Tuesday night.
In the first set, the Roadrunners led throughout the early portion of the game, leading 11-7 at one point. A kill from Sierra Smethurst made it a 13-11 lead for Rio Hondo but that's when ECC turned it on, going on a 7-0 scoring run. The run was spurred by a number of errors on the Roadrunners' part with a couple of aces from Caitlin Donatucci and kills from Clark.
The Roadrunners were able to cut the deficit to three on two occasions but, with ECC holding a 23-20 advantage, Clark recorded a kill to give ECC set point and then an attacking error by Mara Sanchez sealed the win for the Warriors and a 1-0 lead.
That was the closest the Warriors got to a sweat on the night as they jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the second set en route to a 14-point victory and they followed that with a 7-1 start in the third as they housed Rio Hondo 25-8 in the third.
The Warriors will face a familiar foe for the SCC Title on Tuesday night after Long Beach City College defeated Pasadena in the other semifinal. The Warriors and Vikings have split both matches they've played this year with each team winning on the other's home floor. First serve is set for 7 p.m.