Husky Volleyball Falls to Cerritos in Four
MONTEREY PARK, CA – The Huskies game knowledge and game repertoire increases despite a four game loss to the Falcons of Cerritos College. The Huskies put up a good fight against the veteran team from Cerritos College coming up short in a 3-1 loss Wednesday night (19-25, 18-25, 26-24, and 20-25).
The Huskies had 74-dig, 42-kills, 6-aces, 6-blocks, and 39-assists, for the evening in its thrilling match that had the 157 person crowd on its feet.
Offensively, it was freshman Breanna Trujillo who led the way, grabbing 17 kills on 39 swings, 15 digs, and 2 service aces, and 3 blocks, while sophomore middle hitter Eriazmin Mauries pitched in with 10 kills, 15 digs, 1ace, and 2 blocks.
On an off night from freshman Mia Madott (6 kills, 0.233 hitting percentage) it was teammates freshmen Jacqueline Montoya who registered 5 kills and 3 digs and Alexis Salazar who returned after an ankle injury picked up 2 kills, 3 digs, and 1 assist block, that aided in the Huskies fight.
After a difficult two set loss, the Huskies were a much improved team in the third set taking a 9-4 lead following a kill from Breanna Trujillo. The set remained close with the Huskies eventually trailing 18-20. The two point lead forced a Falcon time out. The Falcons earned a 23-20 lead due to unforced errors by the Huskies. The Huskies rallied back to score 6 critical points resulting in a 26-24 win over the Falcons. Breanna Trujillo bounced a ball of the face of the outside hitter and Mia Madott cranked a ball down the line that kept the Huskies live and rallied the crowd. The Huskies defense added flavor the victory as it posted 9 successful digs among the last six points scored.
Ever-resilient, the Huskies took an early four point lead in game four jumping out 10-6. Back and forth, the Falcons eventually managed to tie the set at 13-13 with a big swing from the Falcons outside hitter Jasmynne Roberts (12 kills). But the Huskies continued to get the better of the play as Jacqueline Montoya bounced a ball down the middle of an X pattern to score a side-out play. Trading points, the rallies continued until three mis-calculated hits by the Huskies resulting in 23-20 lead by the Falcons. Helping the Huskies to stay alive, Vanessa Gutierrez (22 assists and 13 digs) fought hard to stop the Falcons strikes on the right side of the floor digging two balls, one which led to a transition attack followed by a net error and the second led to a free-ball and a blocking error by the Huskies resulting in a 20-25 win for the Falcons.
Commented by a Husky fan, “I’ve seen many ELAC volleyball games, but I am impressed at the level of play I’ve seen these past two years”. Certainly, the fans are recognizing the growth in the Husky program. Just as the fans recognize the growth, Coach Walker looks forward to meeting Mt. San Antonio on Friday, October 17th at 6PM in the “E-rena”.