Owls Swept by Cuesta in Home Opener

Glendora, CA - After nearly a month and a half of playing on the road and a tough 14 match start to their 2016 campaign, the Citrus College Volleyball team finally made their way home on Friday evening. Unfortunately for the Owls it wasn't a welcome homecoming as they were swept by visiting Cuesta College 25-15, 25-23, and 25-17. 

 Citrus would keep things close for the first 19 points of the first set. The Owls would even tie the set up three times, and trail by a single point 10-9 early on. The Cougars would use small runs of 6-1 and 6-3 to pull ahead 22-12. The Owls would score three out of the next four points, with all three being the result of Cougar errors, before Cuesta closed things out on a 3-0 run.

In the second set, looked like they finally found their groove, taking an early lead and holding on to it late into the set. With the set tied up at 18-18, the eighth time it was tied in the second set, the Owls got back to back kills by freshman Leah Price and sophomore Lauren Valenciana to move four points away from a second set win. Citrus fell apart though, as they six errors down the stretch in a two point loss.

The Owls would do their best to keep momentum on their side in the third, briefly leading midway through at 13-11 after back-to-back kills by Price and Valenciana. An 8-3 run by the Cougars would bury any thoughts of a comeback though as they ultimately fell by eight points in the third set. 

In the loss, Citrus got eight kills from sophomore Paige Madkin and seven from Valenciana. Freshman libero Marissa Underwood chipped in with 14 digs, while freshman setter Moriah Gordon had 20 assists and 12 digs. 

With the loss, Citrus drops to 1-14 on the year. The Owls will hit the road on Monday for their make-up contest at Antelope Valley College. The match is set for a 6:00 PM start.