RAMON ALVARADO

El Camino College’s volleyball team visited Rio Hondo on Friday, September 29, to take on the red hot Lady Roadrunners squad. The El Camino Warriors were able to put an end to the Rio Ladies’ winning streak after taking the first three sets of an exciting match.

 

Rio Hondo’s Lady Roadrunners had won three games in a row prior to their matchup against El Camino. They kept up their solid play Friday night, staying close to the Warriors for most of the match.

 

The Lady Roadrunners were down by just one, 22-21, in the first set, but the Warriors were able to rattle off three straight points and take the set, 25-21.

 

In the second set, Rio Hondo was once again head-to-head with El Camino, trailing by just two, 20-18. The Warriors took control of the set, however, and went on a 5-2 run. They won the second set with a score of 25-20.

 

Set number three started off promising for the Rio Ladies. They jumped ahead to a 7-2 lead early on. The Warriors kept fighting, though, and really tested the Lady Roadrunners’ grit.

 

El Camino was able to crawl back and tie the third set at eight, but Rio Hondo showed they were just as tough. The two teams traded kills and attacks until El Camino led 18-15 with Rio in possession of the ball.

 

Rio had some momentum going until some confusion on their part resulted in a substitution violation. The violation increased El Camino’s lead to 19-15 and gave the Warriors the ball as well.

 

The mistake proved to be costly for the Rio Ladies. El Camino pulled away with a 6-2 run after the violation. The Warriors won their third straight set, this time with a score of 25-17.

 

Lady Roadrunners’ head coach Teddi Esko has been preaching about consistency to her team lately. While the Rio Ladies may have been a bit inconsistent in Friday’s matchup, Coach Esko still feels her team is getting better.

 

“Our team is improving on their consistency,” stated Esko, “At times our unforced errors are due to a lack of focus.”

 

Coach Esko also feels her team should not hang their heads low after this loss, as El Camino is no easy team to match up with. She is also hopeful her team will learn something from this loss and apply it to their next game at Pasadena City College on Wednesday.

 

“This was a tough loss for our team, however we competed against a very good program,” said Coach Esko. “We can use this loss as a learning experience and move forward to next week’s match against Pasadena… We continue to grow stronger as a team each match. Our team is definitely prepared to play PCC.”