(Walnut, CA) After a six-match winning streak was snapped this week with a five-set loss to second-place Long Beach City College, the Mt. SAC Women's Volleyball team bounced back with a 3-1 victory over visiting El Camino on Friday, October 20, in South Coast Conference action.
With the victory, the Mounties improved to 13-8 overall and 7-4 in the conference.
The Mounties won 15-25, 25-10, 25-18, 26-24. El Camino slips to 3-15, 3-8.
Freshmen Andrea Brewer and Candace Ceballos (4 SA, 7 D) led with 15 kills each. Brewer also led with 17 digs.
Sophomore setter Capril had a big night for the Mounties with 43 assists, 13 digs, eight kills, and two service aces.
Freshman libero Brooke Olivas added 13 digs, while Melissa Polich (7 D) and Kyra Miller (6 D, 2 SA) had eight and six kills, respectively.
"It wasn't pretty, but we got it done," Mt. SAC Women's coach Samantha Neely said. "We were struggling a little with our defense, but I'm really proud of the scrappiness we brought to the court.
"It was important for us to keep it simple on Friday because we did come off such an intense five-set match on Wednesday (a loss to Long Beach CC). This El Camino team has improved significantly, and they put up a tough battle."
Mt. SAC, which swept El Camino in its first meeting 3-0, came out slow and fell behind early and never recovered for the 10-point loss to trail 1-0.
The second set was a dramatic turnaround for the Mounties. Leading 16-9, they went on a 7-1 run and never looked back to even the match, 1-1.
Leading the charge in that run was Polich with three kills. She added two more, including the winner with her fifth kill in the set.
"I sat on the bench, cold from not starting and coming in for the second set, and I really showed that this is my gym, and I wanted to prove something on Friday," Polich said.
The third set was a back-and-forth affair, with the Mounties pulling away late on two consecutive kills by Ceballos for the 22-17 lead.
The Mounties finished off the third-set win with a kill by Miller, a service ace by Ceballos, and an attack error by the Warriors for the 2-1 set lead.
The fourth set could only be described as a 'barn-burner' with non-stop action that went beyond the minimum.
Highlighting the match-winning set was Mt. SAC's secret weapon. Salmon, whose specialty is setting up their big hitters with her assists, had four kills, but not the typical type.
"We've had a lot of practices where they have been letting me be able to hit," said Salmon, of her deceptive dink kill. "It really depends on the blockers on the other side. We've been working on the deception, so that's how you get more points that way."
The Warriors came within one point of evening up the match, 2-2, as they had a match point at 24-21.
However, Mt. SAC wouldn't be denied and won the last five points, ending with consecutive kills by Ceballos.
The Mounties, with only five SCC matches remaining in the regular season, travel to first-place Rio Hondo on Wednesday, October 25.
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For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.