2018 Volleyball Season Comes To a Close With Celebration of Sophomores

Citrus Volleyball wrapped up its 2018 campaign on Wednesday vs regional opponent Orange Coast College. The Owls dropped the match in 4 sets, but the night was highlighted by the celebration of the sophomore class who are concluding their careers at Citrus. 

Five student athletes move on this year after playing as Fighting Owls for two seasons: Julianna Aceituno, Iris Bernal, Jazmine Carlos, Natalia Castro and Alexis Rodriguez. The players were joined by their family and friends in a pregame ceremony that honored their commitment and dedication to the volleyball program at Citrus. 

Another nice pregame treat was Freshman Danielle Rogers who nailed the National Anthem in front of the approving home crowd. Rogers brought the house down as she was showered with cheers throughout her performance. 

Citrus also saw a landmark moment when 2nd year Libero (the 2017 WSC South Libero of the Year and a 1st team All Conference honoree in 2018) Natalia Castro broke the all time time dig record at Citrus, eclipsing Mackenzie Pike's previous record by just 8 digs, and in her final game as an Owl to boot. The new record now stands at 716 digs, a testament to Castro's defensive acumen and consistency in the backcourt for the Owls. 

The Owls came out a little slow in the first two sets, struggling to ignite and playing a bit of catch-up as a result. Citrus went down 0-2 but the home team was not ready to put a cap on the season, as they rallied to beat OCC in the 3rd set. The Pirates would recover though, and took the 4th and final set to win the match.

The Owls end the season with an overall record of 8-22, and a conference mark of 5-3, which put them in the #3 spot in the WSC South. 

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