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Photo by
Juan Velez.
Comeback sparks four-game
win for Falcons against Long Beach City
College. |
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Trailing 15-12 in
the third game of their South Coast Conference
match, the Cerritos College volleyball team went on
to score 13 of the next 16 points to post a 25-18
win and use that momentum to defeat rival Long Beach
City College in four games on Wednesday night. The
Falcons (10-5 overall, 7-3 SCC) kept their
post-season hopes alive with their 25-21, 22-25,
25-18, 25-21 win over the Vikings (8-10, 6-5) with
six more conference matches remaining. Cerritos,
ranked #21 in the state, will now travel to face
two-time defending state champion El Camino College
on Friday night. The Warriors are ranked #2 in the
state and trail conference-leading Pasadena
City College by one game.
In that critical
turnaround during the third game, sophomore
Kristen Trillo (Santa Fe HS)
served six straight points, which included a service
ace and a pair of kills by freshman Chanelle Puou
(California HS). After the two teams traded
the next six points, Cerritos finished off the
Vikings, thanks in part to a pair of service aces by
sophomore
Monique Gayton (La Serna HS).
After the Falcons
won the first game, Long Beach City turned to Serefina
Starks (four kills) and Ceci Cisneros (four kills
and never trailed after taking a 12-11 lead.
Cerritos stayed close throughout the game, but
recorded six of their 16 kill errors on the night in
that game.
Riding the
momentum of the third game, the Falcons held off a
quick Viking start in the fourth and trailed as much
as 9-4 before starting their comeback. Cerritos took
a 14-12 lead, which they never relinquished and
thought they had the match won at 24-19, but the
referee overruled a call by the line judge that a
kill by Puou was fair. Long Beach scored the next
three points before Puou finished off the match with
a powerful kill.
On the night, Puou
(16 kills) and sophomore
Sarah Naranjo (Santa Fe HS),
who had 12 kills, led the Falcons. Sophomore Yawen
Zhan (China) contributed eight
kills and two blocks, while Gayton directed the
offense with 35 assists and also posted four kills.
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