Gates, Lepe Lead Charge in Win Over Santiago Canyon

After a strong start to the season, the Riverside City College women's indoor volleyball team has been dealing with some growing pains. Entering into their sixth Orange Empire Conference (OEC) showdown on Wednesday night, the Tigers were staring down the barrel of a four-match losing streak and winning a mere four sets during the skid.

The Tigers dug deep and snapped the four game slide by defeating the Santiago Canyon College Hawks in four sets with scores reading 25-23, 21-25, 25-12, 25-16.

Riverside was without their top weapon, but the duo of sophomore Miranda Gates and freshman Jessica Lepe proved to be more than enough.

For the first time this season, Gates paced the Tigers on offense by humming home a season-high 16 kills on 32attempts for a kill percentage of .438. She earned career-high marks in kills and attempts.

Lepe was all over the place as she recorded stats in nearly every positive category. She tallied 14 kills paired with 17 digs and a team leading five aces. She, too, recorded career-high marks in kills, digs and aces.

Freshman Mya Castro matched Lepe's output on the defense line with 17 digs. She added a pair of assists and an ace as well.

Sophomore Hailey Gray started at setter for the sixth-consecutive match and paced the team with a season-high 22 assists. She added 14 digs which acts as her season-high total. Freshman Chloe Christelman followed with 15 assists and added an ace and two digs.

Freshman Ashley Elias-Romero continued her strong play with 11 digs and two aces, marking the 10^th consecutive game with at least one ace and 12^th straight contest with at least three digs.