After a dismal start to the match against Cerritos, the Warriors never looked back after hitting on all cylinders going up 12-8 in the second game on Oct. 30.
The Warriors lost the first game to Cerritos 17-25, but swept the next three games to win 25-13, 25-23, and 25-22.
“We lost the first game and we had to come back. We played hard because it wasn’t going to be handed to us,” Sarah Prather said.
With only three games left in the regular season for EC, the Warriors will take on East Los Angeles on the road on Nov. 11 and will play Los Angeles Harbor at home on Nov. 13. That will set up the rematch against Pasadena at home on Nov. 18.
“I felt these past two weeks we have gradually grown as a team, we are working hard everyday with the 18th on all of our minds, but not looking too far ahead,” Kiley Tamblyn said.
Cerritos came out in the first game very loud and fiery to take a 12-9 lead after EC’s only lead at 4-3. The intensity grew after every Cerritos point.
“We played poorly; then we woke up and played to our ability. We got together and figured out what we were doing wrong,” Tamblyn said.
Ashleigh Gideon came up with a huge dig that lead to a Yacine Meyer kill to change the momentum.
The Warriors committed a lot of errors that gave the momentum and lead back to Cerritos at 21-13 and EC rallied back, but fell short, losing 25-17.
The second game proved to be different, as EC came out with poise and intensity to keep it tied at 6-6. After some exchange of points, EC found its rhythm and got up 12-8.
The momentum did not go back to Cerritos, as EC continued to roll as the lead increased 20-10. The Warriors continued their domination, and it did not look back after the second-half of the game to win 25-13.
The third game started off and did not skip a beat as a Prather block gave EC a lead at 7-5. It proved to be an intense game as long rallies and points were exchanged, but the Warriors pulled away for breathing room at 22-19.
The game did not end without a fight from Cerritos as they bounced back to get it to 23-22, but a Gideon kill and a Cerritos error gave EC the win at 25-23.
The momentum switched in favor of Cerritos for a short period of time in the fourth game, but a Meyer kill gave EC the lead at 19-18.
Cerritos took its first lead at 21-20, but errors toward the end of the game and a Deja Dickerson kill gave EC the win for the match at 25-22.
The Warriors defeated Los Angeles Trade Tech in three straight games 25-20, 25-5, 25-12 at home on Oct. 28.The Warriors also swept Long Beach 25-12, 25-19, 25-20 on Nov. 4 on the road.
“The Long Beach game was a fun crowd. We had an amazing warm up and we came ready to play,” Prather said. “We were fired up to play and it was probably one of our best matches of the year.”
