By Tyler Nelson

It was a tough week for the Riverside City College women’s volleyball team as they managed to lose three straight games from Nov. 7 through Nov. 12.

The Tigers competed against Golden West on Nov. 7. Unfortunately, Golden West dominated all three sets scoring 25-18, 25-16 and 25-18. Golden West played excellent defense and managed to hold the Tigers to under 20 points for each set. Ending the game with a final score of 3-0.

What costed the Tigers the most were the errors they committed during the final set. For the first two sets, the Tigers committed only five errors. However, during the third and final set, they committed over 11 errors. Costing them any chance of getting back into the game.

In the game, sophomores Lauren Wells and Marissa Vialpando each lead the team with eight kills.

RCC faced their next opponent, the Cypress Chargers on Nov. 9. The Chargers are ranked No. 6 in the state with an overall record of 21-2.

Unlike in the game against Golden West, the Tigers played tough and managed to win their first set scoring 26-24. However, the Tigers would then lose their final three sets 25-13, 25-23 and 25-22. Ending the game 3-1 against the Gauchos. Vialpando believes her teams just needs to finish out games.

“I think we need to learn more on just how to finish and close out games,” Vialpando said. “We’ve been up in games multiple times this season and have given up leads. We just need to know how to win.”

In the game, Vialpando once again led the Tigers in kills with 18. Outside hitter Kellsy Russell was right behind her with 14 kills.

The women’s challenged Saddleback College on Nov. 12. Like a reoccurring theme, the women’s team wounded up short and lost 3-1. In total, the sets were 25-20, 23-25, 25-14 and 25-23.

Even though the women’s team played three games in under a week, it doesn’t seem to bother any of the players.

“No it doesn’t bother me at all,” Vialpando said. “I actually like playing, I don’t mind being challenged,” she said jokingly.

The women’s volleyball team holds an overall record of 15-9 (9-6 conf.) after a three game losing streak. Their next opponent will be Saddleback College at Wheelock Gym on Nov. 16 and Coach Monica Hayes-Trainer is ready.

“We’ve practiced game planning against Saddleback before but couldn’t execute the game plan successfully,” she said. “The things we’ve practiced just needs to be applied and executed better and I’m confident it will happen.”

If the women’s team manages to pull off a win against the Gauchos, they will automatically be seeded into the OEC playoffs.