Cougars Take Two at Annual El Camino Tri

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director 

TORRANCE – College of the Canyons pushed its win streak to three matches with a doubleheader sweep at the annual El Camino College Tri, claiming victories against the host Warriors and Grossmont College.

In the opener, it was Canyons (3-1) with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-13) win over ECC (0-4). In the following match, the Cougars played to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-10, 25-18, 25-15) victory over Grossmont (1-2) to complete the road trip.

The set won by the Griffins was the first surrendered by COC across its last three matches.

COC freshman Aly Grodell was key to the Cougars victory over ECC, finishing the match with six kills, four aces and a pair of blocks while hitting .455 across the three sets. Brianna Botello led COC with eight kills to go with five digs in the match. Grace Rodriguez added two aces along with 12 assists.

Top Performers – Canyons @ El Camino

• Brianna Botello — 3 SP, 8 K, 5 digs, .471
• Aly Grodell — 3 SP, 6 K, 4 SA, 2 BS, .455
• Jacqueline Ibarra — 3 SP, 6 K, .500
• Grace Rodriguez — 3 SP, K, 2 SA, 12 A, 2 digs
• Abby Sherman — 3 SP, 2 SA, 9 digs
• Ariana Vargas — 3 SP, 5 K, 2 SA, BA, 6 digs

In the afternoon affair Grodell and Kaelyn White both finished with double-digit kill totals and the Cougars combined to add 11 aces in the match.

White's 16 kills led all players and came on a .600 hitting performance. Grodell's total came with a .471 hitting percentage. Brianna Botello finished with nine kills to round out a strong hitting day for the sophomore. Sherman led all players in the match with five aces and 15 digs. Jordan Nunez ended the match with five kills, two aces, 11 digs and 31 assists.

Top Performers – Canyons vs. Grossmont

• Brianna Botello — 4 SP, 9 K, 2 BA, 4 digs, .318
• Aly Grodell — 4 SP, 10 K, 2 BA, .471
• Jordan Nunez — 4 SP, 5 K, 31 A, 2 SA, 11 digs
• Grace Rodriguez — 4 SP, 15 A, 2 digs
• Abby Sherman — 4 SP, 5 SA, 15 digs
• Kaelyn White — 4 SP, 16 K, BA, 2 A, 3 digs, .600

Upcoming Schedule
Canyons will next host Santa Barbara City College in its 2022 home opener at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7 in the Cougar Cage. That match will be live streamed to fans free of charge via YouTube on the Cougars Sports Network.

The Cougars then head south to the annual San Diego Mesa Quad tourney with matches vs. the host Olympians and Mira Costa College on Friday, Sept. 9. On Saturday, Sept. 10, Canyons will face Cypress and Mt. San Jacinto College.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.