Riverside Defeats Santiago Canyon in Conference Finale

The Riverside City College women's volleyball team hosted the Santiago Canyon College Hawks on Wednesday night in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) finale in the friendly confines of Wheelock Gymnasium. It was no contest for the Tigers as they led wire to wire, thus paving their way to a three set victory with set scores reading 25-15, 25-13, and 25-16.

Riverside put together an impressive season following a year in which they barely squeaked out double-digit wins. They finished the season with an overall record of 15-10 which is the exact mirror opposite of a 10-15 record just one year ago. Furthermore, they worked towards a conference record of 8-7 to land them in fifth place. Last season, the hauled in a mere five wins in conference play to land them in seventh place.  

Riverside tossed the entire kitchen sink at the Hawks as every eligible player saw time on the hardwood. Leading the offensive unit was sophomore outside hitter Marcella Rodriguez. She recorded a game-high 11 kills accompanied by six digs. Sophomore outside hitter Kiara Oregon backed her with six kills to go along with three digs and one service ace.

Sophomore outside hitter Julia Balancier chipped in six kills, while sophomore middles Lauren Dunmore and Rozarya Barrett hammered home three kills each.

Sophomore setter Taylor Gardner set the offense up all night leading to 15 assists two and recorded two services aces in the process.

Freshman setter Madison Hernandez saw time in two sets and dished out five assists, while sophomore libero Natalie Escher chipped in nine digs in three sets. 

The Tigers will await their playoff fate and look to make their first appearance since 2016. Stay tuned to www.rccathletics.com for further details.