Rutledge Anchors Offense as Warriors Outlast Cerritos

TORRANCE, Calif. --- Brea Rutledge hammered down 25 kills as El Camino College outlasted No. 23 Cerritos 3-2 (25-19, 16-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-5) Thursday night in a South Coast Conference matchup at the ECC Gymnasium.

Rutledge was the only Warriors player to record double figures and accounted for essentially half of the Warriors' (5-10, 3-2) offense on the night but it was enough for the Warriors to close out the week undefeated following Wednesday's road win at Rio Hondo.

Rutledge added a career-best five service aces to go along with five digs and one block. She posted a career best .404 attack percentage (25-4-52), marking just the second time she's attacked with a percentage of .300 or better this season. On Sept. 14 against Orange Coast, Rutledge also hammered down 25 kills with a .328 kill percentage (25-5-61)

Jayden Zabala (20) and Nofoali'I Selu (18) combined for 38 assists to set the Warriors to a .209 attack percentage, besting the Falcons' (8-4, 4-2) .130 kill percentage on the night. Zabala also added 16 digs to lead the defense.

Athina Sarreas and Ginia Goods each posted four blocks on the night and Leafa Juarez made her 2021 home debut with 15 digs and two service aces. Saki Yamamoto added 11 digs in just three sets as the Warriors totaled 75 digs on the night.

For the Falcons, Aiyana Sierra led the team with 20 kills and a .310 attack percentage. Carissa Mendibles dished out 46 assists in the losing effort.

The Warriors trailed two sets to one on Wednesday night, dropping a very close third set in which the teams were tied 12 times and traded the lead on eight occasions.

But the Warriors offense, and Rutledge in particular, turned it on in the final two sets. In the fourth, the Warriors posted a .324 attack percentage with 15 kills and just three errors. The fifth and deciding set was even deadlier as the Warriors had 10 kills with just one error and two service aces. Rutledge had 12 kills and just one error along with a service ace in the final two frames.

In the deciding set, the Warriors fell behind 1-0 and then rattled off seven straight points on Yamamoto's service. She had one service ace during the run but had the Cerritos defense in shambles as the Warriors jumped out to a comfortable lead and never looked back.

The Warriors will return to action at home on Wednesday night as they host East Los Angeles at the ECC Gymnasium. First serve is set for 6 p.m.