Women’s Volleyball Drops Home Finale in Thriller against Long Beach
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Long Beach (17-6, 12-1) | 27 | 21 | 25 | 11 | 15 | 3 |
|
El Camino (18-5, 13-1) | 25 | 25 | 16 | 25 | 13 | 2 |
TORRANCE, Calif. – In its final home match of the regular season, No. 11 El Camino College came up just short of completing an undefeated season in conference play as it fell to Long Beach 3-2 (27-25, 21-25, 25-16, 11-25, 15-13) Friday night at a packed ECC South Gym.
Mikayla Clark was outstanding for ECC as she matched her career high with 28 kills and Kayla Conley added 11 kills but no other Warriors player managed more than six kills on the night against the Vikings.
Caitlin Donatucci dished out 51 assists and added four service aces; Kelly Donatucci led the defense with 32 digs and Cassidy Crosby added 30. Jessica Villasenor set a career best with 18 digs as the Warriors recorded 98 digs as a team on Friday night.
For the Vikings, Brooke Earkman led the charge with 19 kills and Anisa Lopez added 10 kills in the victory. Lexi Randolph (24) and Cairon Fido (21) combined for 45 of the team's 57 assists in the win. Celestial Ropati led the defense with 31 digs.
With the result, the Warriors still clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming South Coast Conference Tournament after beating Long Beach in four sets back on October 16, one fewer than the five-set loss on Friday.
The South Coast Conference Tournament gets underway on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at Long Beach City College. They will open the competition with a match against No. 8 seed Cerritos. The time has yet to be determined. The winner of the SCC Tournament will earn the conference crown and the automatic bid into the CCCAA State Playoffs.
