(Walnut, CA) An epic five-set comeback has led to a perfect start to the season for the Mt. SAC Women's Volleyball team.
Two wins in the Mt. SAC Quad have kept the perfect record intact for the Mounties (6-0), as they won the first of the two with a 3-2 victory over Mt. San Jacinto College and 3-1 decision over College of the Desert.
The first match of the four-team quad saw the Mounties fall into an 0-2 hole to MSJC before winning the next three. The scores were: 25-27, 17-25, 25-14, 25-9, 15-7.
The afternoon match saw the Mounties defeat College of the Desert, 25-19, 21-25, 30-28, 25-8.
"We still have more work to do and things to get better at," Mt. SAC Volleyball coach Samantha Neely said. "Next week is going to be a huge test for us with three high-level matches on the road - San Diego Mesa, Moorpark and Grossmont."
Mt. SAC 3, Mt. San Jacinto 2
In the biggest comeback in the season to date, the team found themselves trailing, 2-0, before completely turning the match around and sweeping the final three sets with authority.
The win in set number three, the Mounties won by 11 followed by lopsided wins by a margin of 16 and 8 points, respectively, in the final two.
Three players had double figures in kills for the Mounties – Riley DeGroot (15K, 15 D), Angelina Burton (12K, 3D) and Allison Whiteman (12K).
Capri Salmon and Kylie Rhodes had 28 and 17 assists, respectively, for the Mounties, while sophomore libero Riannel Arevalo had a match-high 22 digs.
In the first set, the Mounties had three consecutive match points only to lose the match by two, 27-25. Midway through the second set after a kill by freshman setter Capri Salmon to bring the Mounties within one point, 21-11, the Roadrunners stretched the lead and won by eight, 25-17.
Then the comeback began as an early 10-point lead by Mt. SAC in the third set led to an easy win to trail, 2-1 in sets.
A dominating fourth-set win by 16 points, set the stage to complete the comeback.
Five late errors by Mt. San Jacinto led to an 11-6 Mt. SAC lead and sophomore outside hitter JJ Quarrels completed the comeback with a winning kill to end the match.
"Mt. San Jacinto came into the match firing on all cylinders, while we had a slower start," Neely said. "Once we found our footing in the third set, we put the pedal to the floor and never looked back. Having that first fifth-set challenge in front of us and being able to pull off the reverse sweep, I think is a testament to our conditioning level and grit."
Mt. SAC 3, COD 1
The second match of the day saw Quarrels with a team-high 17 kills to help extend the Mounties winning streak to six on the season.
Sophomore OH Angelina Burton added nine kills and six digs and setter Kylie Rhodes (6 digs) and Salmon (4 digs) had 22 and 20 assists, respectively for the Mounties. Three other Mounties had double figures in digs – Bristol Christelman (12), DeGroot (11) and freshman Paige Gutowski (10).
After the Mounties opened the match with a first-set win, COD tied it up at 1-1 with a four-point win, 25-21.
A marathon third set ended with two errors by COD for the 30-28 win and another dominating win by the Mounties finished off the day for the two victories.
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For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.
