Brydon Spectacular but Warriors Drop Instant Classic to Bakersfield

TORRANCE, Calif. – Two of the top teams in the state clashed Wednesday night at the El Camino College South Gym and the match did not disappoint.

Renee Brydon had a flawless performance offensively but the No. 9 Warriors fell to No. 4 Bakersfield 3-2 (21-25, 27-25, 25-17, 17-25, 13-15) to suffer their first loss of the season.

Brydon led all players with 18 kills and did not commit an error, attacking at a .600 clip (18-0-30). Aiko Waters and Jaylin Motley each recorded double-doubles as Waters hammered down 15 kills with 18 digs while Motley went for 15 kills and 13 digs. Sarah Dyer and Keily Morimoto combined for 52 assists and served the Warriors to a .259 percentage (63-18-174).

Along with her excellence offensively, Brydon was also a force up front as she led all players with six blocks (one solo) to go along with six digs.

For the Renegades, Alex Paris led the way with a double-double, notching 16 kills and 16 digs. Sarah Armendariz added 14 and Brooke Horack tallied 13 kills in the victory.

Each team was excellent with their serves as the Warriors tallied 10 aces, led by Dyer's five; while the Renegades racked up nine aces on the night.

The teams went at it from the jump as both squads attacked at a solid clip in the first set with the Renegades hitting at .265 (13-4-34) while the Warriors attacked at a .250 percentage (14-5-36). But it was the Renegades that pulled out the opening frame, never trailing in the first and getting four kills from Jourdan Muro and three apiece from Armendariz and Horack.

In the second, the teams were tied nine times and traded the lead on five occasions. The Renegades held set point at 24-23, but Brydon slammed down two straight kills to flip the script and give ECC a set point.

After a rare service error from Dyer tied things up, Brydon again came through as she smashed down her ninth kill of the second set to make it 26-25. Waters finished things off with a kill to give the Warriors the set and tie the match up at one apiece.

The Warriors dominated the third set, attacking at a ferocious .321 clip (12-3-28) and getting five kills from Waters in the frame. They dropped the first point of the set and then ran off three straight to take a lead they would never relinquish to go ahead in the match, 2-1.

But the Renegades responded in the fourth, outhitting the Warriors in a great offensive set; .372 (18-2-43) to .282 (12-1-39). They got six kills from Horack in the frame and ran off eight of the last 10 points to force a deciding set.

In the fifth, the Warriors fell behind 8-3 but ran off a 7-2 scoring run to tie things up at 10 apiece. The Renegades responded with three straight before two straight kills from Motley brought ECC within one.

Reece Stevenson hammered down a kill to give the Renegades two match points. Motley logged her third straight kill to erase on match point but Horack capped off the night with a kill to seal the victory for the visitors.

The Warriors will continue a week with a tough slate of opponents as they are set to face off with College of the Canyons and Grossmont on Friday in the El Camino Tri-Tournament. Those matches are set for 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. respectively.