Women's Volleyball: Late Surge By Owls Not Quite Enough

Women's Volleyball faced off against Western State Conference South rival College of the Canyons on Wednesday at home. The Cougars fought off a late surge by the Owls to complete the three game sweep 25-15, 25-15, 27-25.

The Owls struggled to ignite early in the first two sets, fending off a barrage of offense from a deep Canyons roster. Citrus found its groove on serve receive near the end of the 2nd set though, leading to a higher sideout percentage that put the Cougars on their heels. That would translate well into the 3rd set, as the Owls established their first leads of the match and had control of the backcourt and the net throughout much of the 3rd. 

But Canyons wasn't ready to go down easy, rallying from behind and eventually tying the score at 25 all. A couple of unforced Citrus errors were all it took to seal the deal for the Cougars, and they went on to win 27-25. 

Nia Nix one again pieced together a solid offensive game, putting away 18 swings on 39 attempts with just 4 errors, for a hitting percentage of .359, an outstanding statistic for an outside hitter. Nix also rallied the Owls in the back row, pulling up 11 digs for the double double. Setter Vanessa Warren was fierce from the service line, racking up 3 aces and forcing the Cougars out of system countless times. She dished out 24 assists on the night. Summer Edington contributed a solid 10 kills in the effort. 

Citrus snuck up on the end of the 2019 regular season in the loss, with just one game left to play on Friday at home against Glendale. The Owls will be celebrating the contributions of its three sophomores in a pre-game ceremony. Game time is 6:00 in the Owls Nest.

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