Jessica Lepe slams the ball past the net defenders, Raeven Pugh, 13, and Allison Whiteman, 23, during the Tigers match against Mt. Sac Mounties on Oct 5 at the Wheellock Gym. Photo by Stephen Day, Viewpoints. 
Mya Castro sets up the Tiger’s attack during the match against Mt. Sac Mounties on Oct 5 at the Wheellock Gym. Photo by Stephen Day, Viewpoints. 
Mya Castro digs in under the ball to return the serve during the Tigers match against Mt. Sac Mounties on Oct 5 at the Wheellock Gym. Photo by Stephen Day, Viewpoints.
By Dalila Romero
The Riverside City College volleyball team loses its second match in a row after being outplayed by Mt. San Antonio College.
Even though the Tigers made it close in every set, they were still defeated 3-0.
The preparation for the battle began at practice where the Tigers had to work to prepare for the previously undefeated conference record Mounties.
“We worked a lot on our defense, blocking a lot and our blocking did come into play today,” sophomore left back Mya Castro said. “Our offense just needs to make sure we are hitting around the block, picking spots and we need to talk to our hitters.”
The Tigers were put into a rough situation after going down 2-0 in the opening sets.
“It was hard when we dug a hole for ourselves because of the block,” freshman setter Audrey Elias said. “We had to dig ourselves out, which got hard towards the end.”
This game was not only a physical game for Tigers as the players had prepared mentally for the match up.
“We focused a lot on our mental game because we have all the players that we need. We just get into a mental wreck sometimes,” Elias said. “So we just really focused on being there for each other and communicating a lot.”
The team believes that they can work on these issues in practice.
“Our biggest obstacle is definitely serve receiving, it’s something we definitely need to keep working on,” Castro said. ”We just need to get it in our heads that we can pass.”
The Tigers will look to get back on the win column against Saddleback College Oct. 7.
