No. 5 Canyons Defeats No. 4 Bakersfield in Five Sets

No. 5 College of the Canyons pushed its win streak to nine games on Friday after a wild 3-2 road win over No. 4 Bakersfield College in a pivotal match that will have both conference and state ranking implications. Set scores were 21-25, 25-11, 25-15, 18-25, 15-12.

Canyons had three players record double-digit kill totals, with Emily Burns (26), Shayla Johnson (17) and Caroline Page (16) combining to lead the Cougar attack.

Setter Rachel Perez tallied a season-high 61 assists to go with 12 digs. Demi Dawson finished with 19 digs and a match-high six aces. Page and Johnson also finished with 12 and 14 digs, respectively.

The Cougars combined to hit at a .391 clip, with Johnson's kill percentage of .536 leading the way. Burns hit at a rate of .438. Page, Perez and Kelsey Strong also recorded aces in the match.

Meanwhile, Bakersfield ended the night with a .194 hitting percentage and eight aces as the Renegades saw their five-game winning streak snapped.

Canyons (17-4, 4-0) currently sits on top of the WSC, South Division standings.

Bakersfield (14-5, 2-1) is second followed by L.A. Mission (9-8, 1-2) in third place.

Bakersfield, which won the 2016 conference title after seeing Canyons win back-to-back-to-back titles the three years prior, will be looking for redemption when the Renegades enter the Cougar Cage for the final conference match of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

Up next for the Cougars will be a road match vs. West L.A. at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27.

 —Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information