Errors Abound in Owls Loss at Pasadena

Pasadena, CA -- The Citrus College Volleyball program dropped their third contest of the year on Wednesday night when they headed up the 210 Freeway to take on Pasadena City College. The Owls committed 27 attack errors and seven service errors compared nine and three by the Lancers as they were swept 25-18, 26-24, and 25-13.

The first set saw Citrus get off to a good start as the Owls jumped out to a 5-1 lead getting kills from sophomore LeAna D'Aquila and freshman Lauren Valenciana. The lead didn't last though as Pasadena answered with a three point run to pull back within one. The match would go back and forth, until the Lancers broke the set open with a 9-3 run that put Pasadena up 18-14. After a timeout from Head Coach Shin Jung, Citrus got kills from Valenciana and sophomore Amy Wilcox to pull back to within one, but the Lancers closed out the set on a 7-1 run.

The second set was close throughout with neither team taking a lead larger than three points. Pasadena had the lead 10-9 at the first turn, but Citrus would go up 20-17 after a pair of kills by sophomore Erin Murphy. Pasadena would close the gap, and after tying the game up at 20-20, the lead changed hands twice before it was tied at 23 all thanks in large part to a kill by freshman Briana Olvera. Pasadena would go up 24-23 after a kill by the Lancers, but Olvera came back with another strike to knot it up at 24. That was it for Citrus though, as Pasadena got the win thanks to back to back errors by Citrus that close out the second set.

In the final set of the night, Citrus never found themselves in contention. Pasadena had two runs of four and a third run of six to pull away early and late.

In the win, Citrus was paced by Olvera who had eight kills and a .467 kill percentage. Sophomore Samantha Jape notched a match high 10 kills, while sophomore Kristen Fox led the way with 17 assists, and sophomore Jacqueline Medina a team high 12 digs.

With the loss, Citrus falls to 1-3 on the year. The Owls have another tough test in front of them as they head down to San Diego this weekend for the 30th Annual Mesa Invitational hosted by San Diego Mesa College. The Owls have drawn Los Angeles Pierce College in the opening round and will take on the Brahmas at 6:30 PM on Friday.