Hosting Rio Hondo College in a South Coast Conference crossover match on Wednesday night, the Cerritos College volleyball team posted a 25-21, 25-21, 25-17 sweep. The win put the Falcons overall record at 9-8, as they will host Los Angeles City College (1-14) in another crossover match at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

In Southern California, there are 20 teams that advance to the post-season, with Cerritos currently sitting in 21st place in the RPI. The team has six more conference matches remaining to put themselves in the playoffs.

Against the Roadrunners (6-11), Cerritos displayed moments of struggling, especially with their serve in the first set, as they committed four service errors. The Falcons were able to open an 11-5 lead, but after surrendering four consecutive points, it was just an 11-9 advantage. The team responded with four straight points of their own, thanks to a pair of kills from freshman Tiffany Teats (Warren HS), as well as one from freshman Elizabeth Beltran (Santa Fe HS) to regain their six-point lead. Rio Hondo battled their way back to within 17-16 until a couple of Beltran kills helped the Falcons take a 21-17 lead. Beltran and Teats provided the final kills to secure the first set win.

Trailing 9-3 in the second set, kills from Beltran, freshman Jordin Lewis (Warren HS) and sophomore Margaret Norton (La Mirada HS) allowed the team to draw to within 11-9. After the teams were tied several times, three attack errors, as well as kills from Teats and freshman Gabriella Colombo (Cerritos HS) propelled the team to a 21-15 lead. Rio Hondo was able to rally to put the score at 24-21 before Beltran drilled home a kill to close out the set.

Cerritos raced out to a 10-2 lead in the third set, but a series of attack errors got the Roadrunners back to within 14-9. Beltran and Lewis picked up their touch once again, as they each registered a pair of kills, which allowed the Falcons to lead, 20-11 before the closed out the match.

Beltran led the team with 17 kills and just four errors, while Lewis and Teats combined for 22 kills. Freshman Roselyn Tobie (Maxine Waters HS) led the back row with 27 digs and added a pair of kills, with freshman setter Minerva Rodriguez (Gahr HS) posting 24 assists in the first two sets before freshman Emma Rivera (Mayfair HS) took over in the third set and added 13 assists.

Photos by Daryl Peterson