Brittney Diffine and Natalie Escher Advance to Individual State Championships
A pair of teams from the Riverside City College beach volleyball team traveled to Irvine Valley College on Friday evening to represent the Tigers in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Individual Championships. Sophomore Brittney Diffine and freshman Natalie Escher entered into the tournament as the 12th overall seed, while sophomore Marcella Rodriguez and freshman Julia Balancier earned the 18th overall ranking. Diffine and Escher played very well highlighted by a state qualification, while Rodriguez and Balancier were bounced in the opening round.
Diffine and Escher showed great strength by advancing to the quarterfinal round and placing in the top-20 to qualify for the big dance. They began in the first round by defeating Long Beach City's 21st ranked squad by the final score of 22-20, 21-13. They continued on to face the fifth-seeded team from El Camino and upset them in straight sets with scores reading 21-16, 21-17. They eventually fell to Long Beach City's 20th seeded team in two sets in the quarterfinals.
The pair qualified for the CCCAA State Championships after placing top-20 and being deemed the seventh-strongest squad. They will travel to Saratoga, CA and compete for a ring on the campus of West Valley College beginning Friday, May 11th.