Riverside Routs County Rival College of the Desert, 3-0, Friday

PALM DESERT -- Defeating another of its county rivals, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers Women's Volleyball team swept the host College of the Desert (COD) Roadrunners, 3-0, Friday (Sept. 18), laying claim to the unofficial title of Riverside County champion.

Last Friday (Sept. 11), RCC defeated the other Riverside County rival, Mt. San Jacinto College, 3-0.

Riverside (5-1 overall) opened the first set with leads of 1-0, 7-1, and 11-5. Frosh libero Sabrina Gonzaga (Moreno Valley / Citrus Hill HS '14) serving what amounted to the next seven points and an 18-5 RCC lead. Along the way, Gonzaga had two service aces. RCC led, 23-10, before posting a 25-12 win.

In the second set, COD (2-7 overall) managed its only at 1-0 after scoring on the opening serve. After ties at one and six, RCC broke the 6-6 tie with frosh outside hitter Amanda Vialpanda (Riverside / Notre Dame '15) serving and soon led, 13-6. Along the way, Vialpanda had three service aces. Leading, 20-16, RCC frosh opposite hitter Briana Fonseca (Desert Hot Springs / DHSHS '15) hammered home three kills, Gonzaga added a service ace and a COD attack error ended the second set as RCC won, 25-16.

In the third set, the Tigers never trailed, leading, 3-0, and 8-7, before reeling off five straight points for a 13-7 lead, mostly thanks to three COD attack errors. The match ended on a COD service error as RCC won, 25-19.

For RCC, frosh outside hitter Lauren Wells (Corona / Woodcrest Christian HS '15) led a balanced RCC attack with eight kills and also added a team-high 13 digs. RCC sophomore setter Melissa Moe (Riverside / Poly HS '14) had a match-high 22 assists. Frosh libero Sabrina Gonzaga (Moreno Valley / Citrus Hill HS '14) added 12 digs for RCC. Frosh middle blocker Nyomi Ward (Moreno Valley / Rancho Verde HS '14) had six block assists.

For the Roadrunners, sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Cazares (Shadow Hills HS) led with eight kills. Sophomore setter Maygan Zink (Palm Springs HS) added 21 assists and frosh libero Kaylie Edgar (Palm Springs HS) added a match-high 16 digs.

At 5-1, the Tigers are off to their best start since 2010 when they won their first eight matches and were 11-1 heading into Orange Empire Conference (OEC) action.

Riverside's next match will be on Wednesday, Sept. 23, when it hosts the Cerritos College Falcons in a nonconference match in RCC's legendary Arthur N. Wheelock Gymnasium at 5 p.m. After that, Riverside will play its final preconference match on Tuesday, Sept. 29, when it visits the San Bernardino Valley College Wolverines in a 5 p.m. match.

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