With an outside chance at qualifying for the Southern California Regional Playoffs, the Cerritos College volleyball team took one step closer by posting a thrilling 25-23, 27-25, 25-19 South Coast Conference win at Long Beach City College on Friday to pull into sole possession of fourth place. The Falcons, who are now 8-9 overall, are 5-4 in the SCS with five games remaining. The team will have their hands full next week, as they face a pair of top 10 teams in the state, starting with a 6:00 p.m. match at Pasadena City College on Tuesday and then hosting El Camino College at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Gahr HS.

 

    In each of the sets, the Falcons fell behind, but fourth back every time. Trailing 21-18 in the first set, a pair of Viking errors was followed by a service ace from freshman Madison Guastella (Lakewood HS) and a kill from freshman setter Gloria Chang (Bellflower HS) to pull out the win. Guastella led Cerritos with 16 digs on the night, while Chang directed the offense to 14 assists.

 

    Down, 7-1 in the second set, Long Beach City saw the Falcons work their way back into the game, but faced set point at 24-23 before a pair of hitting errors allowed Cerritos to come away with the 26-24 win. It was LBCC's turn to come back in the third set, as the Falcons held a 20-15 lead. After it got as close as 20-19, Cerritos took advantage of three Viking errors, a kill by freshman Latia Peters (Hesperia HS) and a block.

 

    Eight different players recorded kills for the Falcons, with the trio of Peters (four kills), sophomore Amber Finley (Gahr HS) and freshman Andrea Garrett (Cerritos HS) all registering four blocks. Finley also had five kills, while Garrett posted three kills. Sophomore Lupe Garcia (Foshay Learning Center HS) led the team with seven kills and added 10 digs, while sophomore Andrea Stovall (Lynwood HS) finished with four kills.