Beach Volleyball: Match under the lights brings out big crowd

Cerritos and Mt. SAC played a match under the lights
Cerritos and Mt. SAC played a match under the lights

Playing a rare evening match under the lights, the Cerritos College beach volleyball team gave host Mt. San Antonio College all they could handle. Although they dropped the match, 3-2, the Falcons gave the Mounties all they could handle. Both of their South Coast Conference matches on the year were by 3-2 decisions. Cerritos (13-7, 2-4) will close out their conference schedule next Friday when they host both El Camino College and College of the Desert at Rosie's Dog Park in Long Beach.

"It was insanely cool playing a nighttime match," stated Falcons head coach Kari Hemmerling. "We received a ton of great feedback and it was fun to have a solid crowd."

Cerritos earned a pair of three-set wins, while they dropped two matches that went to a third set. In the #2 position, the pair of Monserrat Rodriguez (Gahr HS) and Rosie Cazares-Gonzalez (El Rancho HS) pulled out a 21-17 win in the first set, and after Mt. SAC secured a 21-15 win in the second set, the Falcons prevailed in the tie-breaker, 15-7.

Battling back after losing the first set 15-21, the #4 pair of Abby Gutierrez (Downey HS) and Aiyana Sierra (La Mirada HS) matched that score in the second set (21-15) and pulled out an exciting 15-13 win in the tie-breaker.

The match came down to the #5 pair, with the Mounties recording a come-from-behind 21-17, 19-21, 15-13 win over the Cerritos tandem of Herlinda Casanova (St. Joseph HS) and Juliette Casillas (La Serna HS).