The El Camino Warriors women’s volleyball team defeated the Cerritos Falcons, 3-2 in a South Coast Conference matchup in the gymnasium at Cerritos College on Wednesday, Nov. 3.
The Warriors (12-12, 10-4) fell behind early on in the game, with Cerritos winning the first set 26-24 on an ace serve.
Midway through the second set, sophomore DS Saki Yamamoto left the game due to an injury. She did not return to the court. The Warriors won the second set 25-20 after a Cerritos attacking error.
The Falcons took the third set 25-20, with the Warriors responding with a 25-19 victory in the fourth, after a Leafa Juarez kill to force a fifth set.
In the fifth set, the Warriors and Falcons traded possessions point after point, with El Camino down 11-13, but came back off of a kill by Juarez, and an attacking error by Cerritos to tie the set at 13-13. Repeat of the previous
Juarez put the Warriors ahead 14-13 with another kill, with the game point scored by El Camino off of another attacking error by Cerritos.
Brea Rutledge led the way with 12 kills, one ace, and five digs. Adelynn Abrams had eight kills, while Juarez finished the night with 16 kills, two aces. Nofoali’I Selu recorded 21 assists, Jayden Zabala with 18 assists.
“With Saki being knocked out of the game, it was difficult for us, but we came together as a team. We are growing as a team, playing better than we have, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Zabala said.
El Camino will be on the road again on Friday, Nov. 5 for a conference showdown against East Los Angeles College at 6 p.m.
“We were down in the beginning, but I was surprised how we came together as a team for the win. This is a new team with a lot of new girls, but I’m glad where we are right now,” Juarez said.
