No. 25 Canyons Rallies for 3-2 Upset vs. No. 16 Ventura

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director 

No. 25 College of the Canyons closed out the regular season winning fashion, claiming a hard fought five-set victory over No. 16 Ventura College in a Western State Conference (WSC) crossover match at the Cougar Cage on Tuesday. Set scores were 25-17, 20-25, 16-25, 26-24, 15-12.

Canyons (13-10, 10-2) has won seven straight matches, and 11 of its final 13, down the stretch.

COC's two conference losses came against No. 5 state ranked Bakersfield College, leaving the Cougars second in the WSC, South Division standings behind the Renegades.

Tuesday's crossover contest featured the second-place Cougars hosting the WSC, North's second place squad in Ventura.

Canyons jumped out to an early lead with an opening set victory before dropping the next two frames. The Cougars then battled back in a pivotal fourth set that proved to be a rallying cry for head coach Clay Timmons' team. COC continued to turn the tide in the decisive fifth set to eventually get the upset victory.

Ventura (17-6, 8-2) entered the match winners of five straight to crown the top of the North Division standings alongside Santa Barbara City and Moorpark College.

COC sophomore Caitlin Liebe added 15 kills to up her team-leading total to 204 on the season. She hit .429 for the night with four digs and an assisted block.

Damani Harvey's had nine digs to go with 12 kills, bringing her season total up to 200.

Breanna Kelly has a big difference maker in the match with 10 kills on 16 attacks. She also had three solo blocks and two assisted blocks to help the Cougars at the net.

Canyons had seven aces in the game with two coming from Rhiannon Boddy. She also had nine digs in the game. Abby Sherman finished the match with 35 assists, nine digs and an ace.

The Cougars will now await playoff seeding with a chance to qualify for the postseason in an eighth straight season dating back to 2013. COC programs did not compete in 2020 due to cancellations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brackets for the CCCAA Women's Volleyball Southern California Regional Playoffs are expected to be released on Thursday, Nov. 18.

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. 

—Photo by Mari Kneisel/COC Sports Information