Waters Notches Double-Double as Warriors Stay Unbeaten

TORRANCE, Calif. – Sophomore Aiko Waters led the way offensively for El Camino College as the team secured its fifth straight win to start the year; a 3-1 win (25-9, 25-21, 16-25, 25-19) over visiting Cypress Wednesday night at the ECC South Gym.

Waters was stellar for the Warriors (5-0) as she smashed down a team-high 14 kills on 37 swings, attacking at a .270 clip on the night. Waters also added 10 digs and one service ace to help keep ECC undefeated on the young season.

Jaylin Motley added 11 kills and eight digs while Sarah Dyer (23) and Keily Morimoto (12) combined for 35 assists and set the Warriors to a .211 attacking percentage. Libero Kiana Takahashi anchored the defense with a match-high 16 digs and Glorious Owens led the team with three blocked shots.

For the Chargers (2-1), Brianna Johnson led the way with a match-high 17 kills to go with three blocks and Khamis Berneker added 13 kills. Taylor Togia dished out 31 assists on the night and Toso Leae added 13 digs defensively.

The Warriors jumped all over the Chargers to start the match, storming out to a 20-6 advantage and they never looked back, leading the frame wire-to-wire. Waters (6) and Motley (4) combined for 10 kills in the frame as the Warriors attacked at a .435 clip (13-3-23) in the set while also getting the job done defensively with 12 digs in the set.

The second frame was more competitive as the teams were deadlocked six times and traded the lead on three occasions. But with the teams tied at 17, the Warriors gained the all-important separation they needed with four straight points on Waters serve and would score eight of the final 12 points in the set to take a 2-0 lead.

The Chargers offense was excellent in the third set and avoided a sweep after attacking at a .500 percentage (14-2-24) while holding the Warriors to just eight kills in the set while ECC also committed eight attacking errors. Johnson smacked down seven of her kills in the set for the Chargers, helping the visitors force another set.

The most competitive of the four sets, the teams were tied nine times and exchanged the lead five times. Neither team hit exceptionally well but Cypress' nine attacking errors proved costly as two of the Warriors final four points came on Chargers miscues. Motley handled the rest as her two kills accounted for the other points to close out the match.

The Warriors will have a week off and return to the ECC South Gym on Sept. 13 when they host Bakersfield. First serve is set for 6 p.m.