Owls’ Season Ends in First Round

Costa Mesa, CA -- The Citrus College Volleyball team's fantastic 2012 season came to an end on Tuesday night in the first round of the 2012 CCCAA Volleyball Playoffs. Despite not being at full strength, the Owls put up a valiant effort against the #4 seeded Pirates of Orange Coast College, falling in straight sets 25-21, 25-17, and 25-15.

Things started off well enough for Citrus, as they took an early 8-4 lead on the Pirates after a kill from sophomore Yesenia Ibrahim. Orange Coast would storm back and take the lead 11-10, but the Owls answered by taking the lead back 12-11 and 13-12 after kills from freshman Ana Bui and an ace from freshman Makoto Toyama.

That was the last time the Owls would see a lead though as Orange Coast scored three straight to go up 16-13. The closest Citrus would get down the stretch would be 21-23 after a kill from sophomore Chelsey Martinez and another ace from Toyama. The Pirates rallied though, scoring the final two points to win the first set 25-23.

In the second set Orange Coast ran out to an early advantage going up 4-0 and 13-5. The Owls would claw their way to within three after a kill from sophomore Kassidy Greenberg made it 19-16. The Pirates close the set out though with a 6-1 run as the Owls fell 25-17.

The third set played out like the second as Orange Coast pushed out to a 4-1 lead and extended to 14-5 midway through. The closest the Owls would get would be six points both at 15-9 after a kill from Bui and then 17-11 after an ace from sophomore Amanda Stone. The Owls would keep it in that range for the rest of the set, but never got any closer as they closed out the year falling 25-15.

In the loss, Citrus was led by Greenberg and Martinez who had seven and six kills respectively. Freshman Amanda Stone handed out 23 assists for the Owls, while Toyama came up with a team high nine digs and three aces. Freshman Kim Nevarez added a team high two blocks, one solo two assisted, to round out the superlatives.

With the loss, Citrus' record ends at 14-9, the most successful season for the Owls since 2006.