Women's volleyball overcomes Citrus in close one

The Lady Owls of Citrus College's volleyball squad fell into the winning hands of the Lady Corsairs last Thursday when they were topped 25-22, 27-25 and 25-14 in a full-scale Santa Monica sweep . "It always feels great to win, and except for a few lapses in focus and good play, I think we all expected to win," said freshman Vivien Reece.

Santa Monica College dominated the Lady Owls from the moment they stepped foot on the court.

Vivien Reece and Kelsey Kiel took the reigns early on by stonewalling any potential scores for Citrus with superb blocking, and continued to utilize their defensive game throughout the slim 3-point set win.

As the second set rolled on, the Lady Owls picked up their momentum by scoring the first few points of the game. But the initial success proved misleading, as SMC communicated effectively for a comeback that eventually amounted to a 17-11 lead within the first couple minutes of the match.

Lady Corsair standouts in the second set included freshman Amelia Keeling, freshman Melissa Tindall, and sophomore Megan Hauser; all came through with crucial spikes to elevate the away team over the Owls by a two-point margin in a key second set.

After crushing the spirits of Citrus with a ‘nitty-gritty' battle in the previous game, the Lady Corsairs knew from the start of the third set that it would be theirs, and they finished the opposition off with a resounding 25-14 victory that finalized the sweep.

"I don't think Citrus or any other team necessarily gave us a challenge, our biggest challenges have to do with our own mind games," said Reece. "We feel we have the skills to beat anyone."

Head Coach Nicole Ryan is already looking toward the next game and what the girls can do to gear up for their opponents.

"We are gearing up for COC and Pierce next week," said Ryan. "We have definitely improved this season and we are looking forward to practice and their matches this week."

The Lady Corsairs' next match will take place in Woodland Hills when they take on Pierce College in their season finale this Friday.