Heading into their South Coast Conference match against #10-ranked Mt. San Antonio College, the unranked Cerritos College volleyball team had something to prove. Out of the conversation for being one of the more competitive teams in Southern California for quite some time, the Falcons made a statement Wednesday night, as they defeated the Mounties, 25-12, 25-14, 30-28. Things don't get much easier, as the Falcons will start a four-game road trip, which starts on Friday against #16-ranked Long Beach City College.

"By far, this was the best win I've had as the head coach at Cerritos," said Kari Hemmerling, who is in her sixth overall season at the helm. "I felt going into this season that, even though we're all freshmen, this is the most athletic team I've had here. They proved it tonight and I'm so proud of their hard work and perseverance."

Although they are also an all-freshmen team, the Mounties (6-4, 1-2) entered the night as the taller, more powerful team with the deeper bench than the Falcons (7-2, 3-0).

Cerritos came out in the first set and not only were successful at the net, they played a stellar match in the back row to keep rallies going. In taking a 16-4 lead to start the first set, freshman Marissa Mendibles (Downey HS) was credited with three straight kills, while the back row had several heroes. If it wasn't freshman libero Breanna Lizarraga (Paramount HS) getting her hand under powerful attacks, it was Jayda Harris-Amete (La Mirada HS) or Abigail Gutierrez (Downey HS).

They breezed through that first set without committing an attack error and hit a remarkable .367. The Mounties continued to rotate their players looking for the right amount of continuity to counter the Falcons and their success both at the net and with their serve. Mt. San Antonio used eight different subs on the night, while Cerritos used just one. Although they were expending a lot of energy in each set, the Falcons were able to dig deeper into their tanks for more reserves.

The second set continued to see Cerritos score points in bunches, as Mt. SAC struggled with their serve reception, while the Falcons produced 15 more kills in the set and hit even better than in the first set. By the end of the night, the Falcons had 11 service aces. In each of the long rallies, it was Cerritos that came out on top each time, as Gutierrez, Harris-Amete, Mendibles or Aiyana Sierra (La Mirada HS) would come away with the kill to keep their hopes of the upset alive.

But it was the third set that proved the Falcons mettle, as they fought off a five-point run by Mt. SAC to pull ahead, 25-24 and had hopes of extending the match. The set would be tied three more times until Cerritos was able to close out the match after a pair of Mountie attack errors.

Sierra came away with a match-high 12 kills, while Harris-Amete finished with 10 kills and 16 digs. Not to be outdone by anyone, freshman setter Carissa Mendibles (Downey HS) was fantastic in directing the offense and recorded 32 assists, along with eight digs. Gonzales concluded the match with seven kills, with Marissa Mendibles adding eight kills and nine digs.

Photos by Daryl Peterson