2x4

Norwalk, CA - The Citrus College Volleyball team got back in action on Wednesday afternoon when they travelled to Cerritos College to take on the host Falcons along with Fullerton College later in the afternoon. In the end the Owls came back with a pair of losses, losing in four sets in both contests.

Citrus came out flat in the opener against Cerritos. The Falcons screamed out to a 15-7 lead, but the Owls straightened out their ways and scored seven straight points to pull within a point 14-15 after an ace by sophomore Paige Madkin. The Owls never got closer as Cerritos closed the set out on a 10-4 run to win 25-18.

In the second set, the Owls scored three of the first four points, getting an ace from freshman Moriah Gordon and a kill by freshman Leah Price in the process. Citrus would hang onto that lead up to 5-3, but the Falcons came storming back with a 7-0 run that doubled up the Owls. Citrus would rally with a run of their own briefly regaining the lead 13-12 after another kill by Price. The lead would change hands three more times with Cerritos going on top 19-14, only to watch that lead slip out of their hands with the Owls grabbing a 21-19 lead after a kill by sophomore Zhari Johnson. Cerritos would edge Citrus out though, scoring six of the final eight points of the match to take a 25-23 victory.

In the third set, Citrus cruised, jumping out to a 9-4 lead after a kill by freshman Amanda Belzl. The Owls' lead would never dip below four points from that point forward as they went on to win 25-19, with the winning point coming on an attack error by the Falcons. Citrus couldn't keep that momentum going into the fourth set though as the Falcons took control and led throughout. The Owls would make a small run at it, down 24-20, pulling to within a single score after a kill by Price and a pair of back-to-back errors by the Falcons, but Cerritos settled in and got a kill to win the set and match 25-23.

In the loss, the Owls were led by Price who had a team high 18 kills. Belzl added 9, while freshman libero Marissa Underwood had a team high 14 digs.

Against Fullerton, Citrus again struggled to get anything going consistently on the offensive end of things. The Hornets controlled the first two sets winning 25-19 and 25-20. The Owls would put up a fight in the third set grabbing a 27-25 win, but Fullerton put the game away in the fourth winning 25-19.

Madkin would pace the Owls effort in the second match of the night, notching 14 kills. Freshman Briana Voght added eight as did Belzl. Underwood led the way with 13 digs, while Belzl added 11 more.

With the two losses, Citrus falls to 0-4 on the season. The Owls will be on the road again on Friday afternoon when they part in the Orange Coast College Quad. Citrus kicks the day off against Southwestern College at 2:00 PM, followed by a tilt against the host Pirates at 4:00 PM.