Natalie Escher and Vashti Elias Romero Place Third at OEC Individual Championships, Qualify for SoCals

For the second-consecutive season, the Riverside City College beach volleyball team will see at least one pairing advance to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern Regional tournament. Sixth-seeded Natalie Escher and Vashti Elias-Romero placed third overall in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Individual Championships earning an automatic bid to the SoCal Regionals.

It is the second-consecutive regional appearance for Escher, while it is the first berth for Elias-Romero in her inaugural beach season.

The duo began the final day of competition by facing off against Irvine Valley's Renate Bath and Lea Kruise. The two pairs have faced each other twice during the season with IVC holding a flawless recorded against the Tiger's top duo. The streak continued with Escher and Elias-Romero dropping in two sets with the final scores reading 15-21, 11-21.

The duo then landed in the third-place contest against Cypress' Khamis Berneker and Brittany Zavala. Escher and Elias-Romero defeated them the lone time they faced off and looked to keep the positive trend. They worked to an easy 21-15 opening-set win, but dropped the second set 10-21. The third-set went back and forth, but the Tigers stayed poised down the stretch leading to an 18-16 third set triumph an ultimately the match victory. 

Escher and Elias Romero will continue action on Friday, May 3 at a location to be determined. Stay tuned to www.rccathletics.com for all information.