In their first match of the season, the Cerritos College volleyball team played very well at the right time in their match against visiting West Los Angeles College on Wednesday. The Falcons (1-0) posted a 25-20, 25-8, 25-22 win over the Wildcats. They will travel to Saddleback College on Friday for a 6:00 p.m. non-conference match.

The first set saw both teams looking to find the right rhythm, as they combined for 12 attack errors and four service errors. The teams traded points until an attack error, along with kills from freshman Cameron Puente (Mayfair HS) and sophomore Alexia Torres (Downey HS) gave the Falcons a 22-19 lead. After a West LA point, the duo of Puente and Torres responded with consecutive kills until a service ace by sophomore Mirka Granoble (Downey HS) clinched the first set.

The Falcons took advantage of nine attack errors and four service errors by the Wildcats, combined with a .271 hitting percentage in the second set to win it easily. Eight service aces also paved the way for the Cerritos win in the second set, as they opened up a 14-4 lead and turned that into a 20-5 advantage. 

Cerritos trailed 9-7 in the third set, while the teams were tied at 13-13 before starting to pull away. A pair of kills from sophomore Sierra Hernandez-Hardy (Bishop Amat HS) played a role in the team opening up an 18-13 lead, until the Wildcats closed to within 22-21. Freshman Jackie Dixon (West Covina HS), who led the team with 10 kills, slammed the ball home to move the team closer to the win. Torres followed with a service ace, with match point coming on a service error.

In addition to her six kills, Hernandez-Hardy led the team with eight digs and six service aces, with five different players posting an ace. Granoble (28 assists, four aces) and Dixon (five digs, four aces) were joined by Torres and sophomore Brooke Winquist (Carlsbad International School, Czechia), who had five kills each.

Photos by Daryl Peterson