Riverside Starts Slowly, Regroups to Sweep Saddleback, 3-0, Friday
RIVERSIDE -- Defeating a team that it is expected to, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers Women's Volleyball team defeated the unranked Saddleback College Gauchos, 3-0, in an Orange Empire Conference (OEC) match Friday night (Nov. 6), by the set scores of 25-21, 25-21, 25-10, at legendary Arthur N. Wheelock Gymnasium.
Riverside (13-6 overall, 6-5 OEC), currently ranked No. 20 in the latest (Nov. 2) California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association (CCCWVCA) poll, struggled in the early going, the regrouped and was solid throughout.
In the first set, the Tigers trailed, 7-12, and then asserted themselves with a 7-0 run for a 14-12 lead. RCC kept Saddleback (6-13, 3-8 OEC) at bay. Playing without frosh middle blocker Lauren Reed (Redlands / Redlands HS / Cal Baptist '15), frosh outside hitter Lauren Wells (Riverside / Woodcrest Christian HS '15) recorded five kills in the initial game as RCC won, 25-21.
In the second set, Riverside opened a 7-0 lead and kept the majority of that margin en route to a 25-21 win. Frosh middle blocker Nyomi Ward (Moreno Valley / Rancho Verde HS '14) slammed home six kills to punctuate the win.
The third set saw RCC lead from the start, 2-0, 3-1, 5-2, and 9-6. The Tigers then had a another scoring streak and led, 16-6. Frosh outside hitter Marissa Vialpando (Moreno Valley / Riverside Notre Dame HS '15) had three kills for the Tigers. The final point was recorded when Saddleback was called for serving out of rotation.
Ward finished with a match-high 12 kills and Wells had eight kills. RCC sophomore setter Melissa Moe (Riverside / Poly HS '14) had a match-high 26 assists and added eight digs. Vialpando had a match-high 11 digs.
For Saddleback, Kaylee Douglas had a team-high nine kills and setter Mariah Miller had a team-high 17 assists. Allison Pina and Micaela Balcaza each had a team-high nine digs.
Both teams will continue OEC action on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Saddleback will host the Irvine Valley College Lasers and RCC will visit the Cypress College Chargers in a pair of 6 p.m. matches.
***
Editor's note: Through 19 matches (66 sets), Wells continues to lead Riverside in kills (193, 62 sets, 3.11 avg.) by a wide margin. Ward has moved into second place in Kills (123, 60 sets, 2.05 avg.) Reed, who did not play Friday against Saddleback, is third in kills (117, 42 sets). Moe leads the Tigers in assists (600, 66 sets, 9.9 avg.), is first in service aces (36, 0.55 avg.) and is second in digs (174, 2.64 avg.). Gonzaga leads in digs (230, 63 sets, 3.65 avg.) and is second in service aces (31, 0.49 avg.). Ward leads the Tigers in total blocks (55, 19 solo, 0.92 avg.).
-30-