On the strength of their three-set sweep over visiting El Camino College on Friday night, 25-14, 25-15, 25-18, the Cerritos College volleyball team picked up their 12th win in a row and improved their season record to 16-2. The Falcons, who currently sit in first place in the South Coast Conference South Division, have now matched the program's record for the most wins in a season since 2015. The state's #11-ranked team, as well as ranked #6 in Southern California, will host Compton College at 6:00 p.m. next Friday. The sweep was also their fifth in a row and 13th on the year.

Against the Warriors (7-12, 3-3), Cerritos led the entire way until they trailed, 10-9 in the third set. That deficit was short-lived, as the Falcons scored the next two points and went on to secure the win.

The Falcons broke open the first set, as they turned a 14-13 lead into a 20-14 advantage, thanks in part to three kills from sophomore Lillianna Peterson (California HS). Cerritos scored the final eight points of the set to close out El Camino, with Peterson posting three more kills, while sophomore Brisa Cortez (Schurr HS) added two kills.

In the second set, the match was as close as an 8-5 Falcons lead before the Warriors had their troubles at the net. Cerritos scored three straight points on kills from sophomore Sydney May (Los Alamitos HS/UC Santa Cruz), with Peterson, May and sophomore Jasmine Soto-Castro (Schurr HS) playing a huge role in taking a 2-0 lead in sets.

Continuing to use their stellar back row defense to keep rallies going, the Falcons held a 48-36 lead in digs, with seven different players registering at least one dig. Sophomore libero Priscilla Castillo (Schurr HS) led the team with 17 digs, while May added 10 to go along with her 11 kills.

Peterson, who had five of her team-high 14 kills in the third set, had just one attack error, as the Falcons posted a .358 hitting percentage. May also had 22 assists to go along with her 11 kills, with Soto-Castro (eight kills, six digs) and Cortez (seven kills) also had strong nights at the net.

Photos by Daryl Peterson