Owls Shows Promise Despite Two Opening Sweeps

San Diego, CA - With just four total sophomores dotting their 2016 rosters, only two of whom played significant time for the Owls last season, Citrus knew there would be some growing pains as their new campaign kicked off. The Owls certainly experienced those on Saturday afternoon when they were swept by Mt. San Jacinto College and San Diego Mesa College.

In the opener against Mt. San Jacinto, Citrus committed just one too many errors, doubling the Eagles in service errors (10) and reception errors (7). Citrus posted a strong .231 attack percentage, but came up short 17-25, 22-25, and 23-25. 

In the second set of that match, the Owls would lead as late as 17-16, but the aforementioned errors including a serve reception error and a set error would lead to their demise. In the third and final set, the Owls would trail by just a single point at 20-21. Three straight attack errors by Citrus would put them into too big of a hole though, and the Owls fell in straight sets. 

In the loss, the Owls were paced by the play of freshman Leah Price who pounded home a match high 17 kills. Freshman setter Moriah Gordon notched 27 assists, while freshman Marissa Underwood and sophomore Zhari Johnson each had a team best 10 digs. 

For the second match against annual playoff participant and the day's host San Diego Mesa, the Owls were simply outgunned by the strong Olympian squad. Mesa recorded 11 more kills in the match, and was more efficient at that, posting a .369 kill percentage. 

Having said that, the Owls showed fight throughout the match before falling 17-25, 17-25, and 21-25. In the first set, Citrus would keep it close for the first third, tying the set up at 10-10 after a kill by Price. Mesa would rally with a 8-0 run though, a stretch that saw the Owls commit three attack errors and two reception errors that helped the Olympians run away. 

In the second set, Citrus would keep it close even longer, using another Price kill to tie the match up at 15-15. A 7-0 run this time by the Olympians would ruin any chance for the Owls. In the third and final set of the day, Citrus never let Mesa run away with things, as the Owls trailed by three in the waning moments, before a kill by the Olympians put the match away.

Price once again led the Owls offensive effort with a team high 14 kills. Price also added a team leading nine digs, while Gordon had 26 assists. 

With the two losses, Citrus falls to 0-2 on the young year. The Owls will be back in action this Wednesday when they travel to Cerritos College to participate in another triangular, beginning with a 2:00 PM showdown with the host Falcons.