Tigers Lose 3-2 Against Cypress College Chargers

Tigers Lose 3-2 Against Cypress College Chargers

RIVERSIDE – In perhaps their most entertaining match of the season, even if it wasn't the most successful in terms of result, the host Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers lost, 3-2, against the visiting Cypress College Chargers in an Orange Empire Conference (OEC) match Friday night (Oct. 11) at legendary Arthur N. Wheelock Gymnasium.
 
Cypress (7-5, 1-2 OEC) won by the set scores of 17-25, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22, 15-13, over Riverside (5-6, 1-2 OEC). Despite the loss, RCC leads in the all-time series between the two teams, 31-25, but the Chargers have won 11 of the last 12 meetings in the series.
 
The Chargers were led by freshman outside hitters Kiki Atuatasi (La Quinta HS), who had a team-high 20 kills, and Mya Shannon (Long Beach Poly HS), who had 19 kills. The Chargers used a trio of setters and were led by freshman setter Cierra Boaz (Loara HS), who had 17, and freshman middle blocker Skylr Halley (El Modena HS), who had 16. Cypress' regular setter, freshman Allyson Dekruyf (Valley Christian HS), logged only 11 in three sets. On the back row, a triumvirate of Chargers registered double-digits in digs, led by freshman defensive specialist Dymond Johnson (Gahr HS) with 16. Boaz added 15 digs and sophomore defensive specialist Holly Webster (Sonora HS) had 13 digs.
 
For Riverside, the Tigers were led by sophomore outside hitter Cherylain Dizon (Redlands east Valley HS) with a match-high 23 kills and match-high 17 digs. Sophomore setter Jennifer Norton (Highland / Redlands East Valley HS) led with a match-high 34 assists.
 
In the first set, RCC trailed, 10-6, and then went on an 8-1 run for a 14-11 lead and was never headed. Dizon had seven kills and Norton had ten assists in a first-set 25-17 win.
 
In the second set, Shannon had five kills and Boaz had seven assist to lead the Chargers to a 25-19 set win.
 
In the third set, RCC snapped a 13-13 tie and built a lead when sophomore middle hitter Brittney Goodrich (Moreno Valley / Canyon Springs HS / COD) had back-to-back kills off of Cypress overpasses for an 18-16 lead. Goodrich added a pair of block assists for the win.
 
Jumping ahead to the fifth and final set, RCC was ahead, 5-0, 8-1, and 12-6, before Cypress rallied in a big way. The Chargers went ahead, 14-13, before posting the match win.
 
Both teams return to OEC action on Wednesday, Oct. 16, when Cypress hosts the Irvine Valley College Lasers and Riverside hosts the Orange Coast College Pirates at 6 p.m.