Written by: Dorothy McCarty
The Riverside City College Volleyball team collected its seventh overall win Sept. 29 against host San Bernardino Valley College. The victory was the third consecutive win for the Tigers.
Both teams maintained close pace with one another. Despite several lead changes both teams were able to get back into close range whenever the other team pulled too far ahead.
San Bernardino’s biggest lead came at 15-7 before the Tigers came back to take an 18-10 lead and later win the set 25-16.
The Wolverines never led in the first set and RCC continued to have complete control of the game in the second set.
The biggest deficit the Tigers faced was 10-5 before they were able to score 19 unanswered points and go on to win the second set, 24-6.
When asked how RCC was able to hold off the Wolverines in the second set, head coach Monica Hayes-Trainer had this to say.
“I don’t know how that set came out with San Bernardino having such a low score. They fought hard but we served very tough and took them out of their offensive game,” she said.
Freshman libero Sabrina Gonzaga helped to spark her team’s offensive explosion by racking in 10 service aces, giving her 10 points for the night. Hayes-Trainer said Gonzaga’s offensive display in that set was “unheard of.”
RCC was able to complete the night’s sweep in the third set winning 25-17.
The Wolverines came out stronger than they did the previous set and captured a couple early leads against the Tigers and some key ties in the final set. San Bernardino called for a timeout right before tying the set at 17, but at this point the Tigers were able to regain control and ultimately win the set.
The match against San Bernardino was the third straight shut out win Riverside. This was the Tigers’ fifth time sweeping a team this season.
This was the second game back for Lauren Reed since her Sept. 4 injury at Santa Monica College.
Reed had 7 kills against San Bernardino which led her team. Hayes-Trainer spoke on the benefit of having Reed back from injury.
“Lauren is such a steady a player for us. Her presence on the court steadies everyone’s nerves, including the coaches,” she said.
