In a match where no lead lasted very long, the Cerritos College volleyball team pulled out a 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 15-6 win in their South Coast Conference opener on Wednesday night. The match went back and forth all night, and aside from the fifth set, the largest advantage were 9-5 leads by the Roadrunners (3-5, 1-1) in the first and third set. In face, the nearly three-hour match was tied 45 times, including an amazing 13 times in the fourth set. Cerritos (5-2, 1-0) will host East Los Angeles College in a 6:00 p.m. conference match on Friday.

One of the downfalls for the Falcons all night was their service, as they gave Rio Hondo 17 points on service errors, with the Roadrunners had eight of their own. Just when it seemed one of the teams would start to gain some traction in stringing points together, a service error would stall them.

But when the Falcons needed a kill to slow down Rio Hondo, they turned to freshman Jayda Harris-Amete (La Mirada HS), who finished with a career-high 23 kills, while she was equally effective in the back row with a team-high 23 digs. Both teams did well keeping rallies alive with some strong defense, while they combined for 153 digs over the course of the five sets.

It wasn't until the fifth set when one team was able to gain any type of edge, thanks to five consecutive attack errors by Rio Hondo. The final set appeared to be a back and forth match early on, as Cerritos led, 7-6. But that's when the Roadrunners couldn't get the ball over the net, as freshman Jenni Solano (La Mirada HS) served eight straight points to close out the win.

Freshman Aiyana Sierra (La Mirada HS) added eight kills in the win, while Maleah Gonzales (Schurr HS) and Marissa Mendibles (Downey HS) each finished with six kills, with Mendibles also contributing 15 digs. Freshman setter Carissa Mendibles (Downey HS) dished out a season-high 40 assists.

Photos by Daryl Peterson