Corsairs Swiftly Soar Over Owls
The Santa Monica College Corsairs women’s volleyball team (10-6) defeated their Western State Conference opponent, the Citrus College Owls (2-9), on Wednesday, October 9 in the Corsair Gymnasium. While honoring Breast Cancer Awareness and Dig Pink, the Corsairs were able to sweep the Owls in three sets.
The Corsairs displayed their presence early, with middle blocker Nicole Lankton and opposite hitter Reese Luke scoring two back-to-back kills early in the first set. Following the strong offense, Corsairs’ outside hitter Sadie Town scored an ace and continued to put service pressure on the Owls.
The Corsairs missed an attempt to serve shorter in the court, but were able to side out quickly as Owls’ outside hitter McKenna Cooper hit the ball out of bounds. Even as the Owls continued to keep some plays alive with their disjointed defense, the Corsairs were able to find ways to score.
“We’re a pretty tough team to beat, especially when we’re dialed in and focused,” said Corsairs’ Assistant Coach Chris Chown.
The Owls were struggling to find the court, continuing to miss balls and send them out of bounds. The Corsairs maintained their momentum, strategically placing balls in the court and finding ways to score off the Owls’ block. The Corsairs dominated at the net, continuing to block the Owls’ attempts, and following a service error the Corsairs took the first set, 25-14.
The Corsairs continued to keep the pressure on the Owls, as Town and middle blocker Mylah Niksa opened the second set with a block at the net. The Owls and the Corsairs began to trade points, as Santa Monica got called for four touches and as Owls’ middle blocker Tara Biscan served into the net. Cooper would score for the Owls after her kill deflected off the block and off of Corsairs’ libero Annah Legaspi.
The Owls began to flip the service pressure onto the Corsairs throughout the second set, causing Santa Monica to fumble some points, as the refs called a net violation on Town. The Owls’ pressure forced the Corsairs to send over another freeball, leading to another kill by Cooper, allowing them to tie the score and find their rhythm. However, Niksa was able to slide out quickly with another kill.
Legaspi kept putting pressure on the Owls, scoring three aces and going on a five point run to push Santa Monica past Citrus. Outside hitter Allison Horin secured set point for the Corsairs with a kill as Santa Monica took the second set 25-17.
Cooper opened the third set with a kill, the Owls taking the first point for the first time in the match. Shortly after she hit the ball in the net, proceeding to give the Corsairs the following point. Niksa got a block and Lankton scored a kill off the block, further establishing themselves at the net. Setter Katelyn Clifton also scored an ace of her own.
“I think we did a good job playing our game,” Corsairs’ opposite hitter Zoe Horner said “We are really focusing on team bliss and just staying consistent… and making sure that we make the points.”
The Corsairs fumbled more points as the Owls forced miscommunication from Santa Monica, allowing the Owls to continue scoring. Both teams continued to trade points, keeping plays alive with disjointed defense and strategically placing balls. Middle blocker Marina Alexander, making her first appearance in the match, secured two more kills for the Corsairs.
The Corsairs continued to push through, however, the refs called another net violation, this time on Horner. Despite this call, the Corsairs found a way to take the match, ending with a cut shot by Lankton on the left pin, taking the third set 25-18.
“I thought we put good pressure on them…we didn’t let down because of whatever distractions there might have been,” said Chown. “I thought our service pressure was really good and we were aggressive offensively…we just get a lot of opportunities and we have a lot of weapons at the net, both offensively and defensively.”
The Corsairs move on to 3-0 in conference and take on the College of the Canyons on Friday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Corsair Gymnasium.