No. 7 Fullerton Prevails, 3-1, over host Riverside in Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE -- Extending the No. 7-ranked team in the state to four sets, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's volleyball squad lost, 3-1, to the Fullerton College Hornets Wednesday evening (Oct. 22) in an Orange Empire Conference (OEC) match at RCC's legendary Arthur N. Wheelock Gymnasium.
Fullerton (11-2, 4-2 OEC) won by the set scores of 25-16, 26-24, 22-25, 25-18, over Riverside (5-10, 2-4 OEC). In the all-time series, Fullerton leads, 27-24.
In the second set, the Tigers jumped to an 8-1 lead, thanks, in part, to a pair of kills by sophomore outside hitter Euricce LeSure (Redlands / Redlands '13). Fullerton caught the Tigers at 23-23 and 24-24, before kills by sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Jensen (Brea Olinda HS) and sophomore outside hitter Kali La Brie (Riverside / La Sierra HS) gave the Hornets a 26-24 win.
In the third set, the Tigers trailed, 6-1, before forging a 22-22 tie and going on to the win. Fullerton had five attack errors down the stretch to aid the Tigers' comeback.
The fourth set saw RCC get a modest 2-0 lead, before Fullerton reeled off ten straight points for a 10-2 advantage. RCC closed to within 11-9, before the Hornets sprinted to a 19-9 lead.
Frosh middle blocker Ashley Tamas (Riverside / Poly '11) led Riverside with six kills and seven total blocks (four block solos). Sophomore setter Sarah Kelly (Riverside / John W. North '13) led RCC with 16 assists and sophomore libero Hannah Lockhart (Moreno Valley / Calvary Chapel '12) had a match-high 18 digs.
For Fullerton, frosh rightside hitter / setter Alex Winfield (Lakewood HS) had a match-high 13 kills and 33 set assists. Jensen was next with 12 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Briana Cervantes (Downey / Warren HS) led the Hornets with a match-high 16 digs.
In its next action on Friday, Oct. 24, Riverside will visit the Golden West College Rustlers, while Fullerton will host the Irvine Valley College Lasers. Each match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.
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