HUNTINGTON BEACH – A historic 2023 Rio Hondo College women's beach volleyball season finally came to a close.

Despite suffering a pair of season-ending losses at the Southern California Regional team tournament, Roadrunner head coach Teddi Esko can look back at a year of improvement and success.

"I thought we played really well, but fell short of the win," said Esko following the regionals. "Although we didn't advance to state, the team played great, competing at their best to end a fantastic season on the highest note."

Rio Hondo qualified for the team regionals for the first time in program history after finishing in third place in the final South Coast Conference standings. With a narrow 3-2 loss to Irvine Valley College and 5-0 setback to regionals-host Orange Coast College, the Roadrunners wrapped up the season with an all-time best 15-6 overall record.

Against Irvine Valley, the No. 2 duo of Nadine Oronoz and Faith Lee as well as the No. 4 team of Jennifer Martinez and Jaida Zuniga picked up 2-0 victories. Rio Hondo nearly pulled out the match win, but lost in three sets at No. 3 and No. 5.