No. 10 Canyons Wins In Straight Sets Over No. 18 SBCC

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director 

College of the Canyons pushed its win streak to four matches while picking up its second victory over a state-ranked opponent, as the Cougars pulled off a straight sets victory over visiting No. 18 Santa Barbara City College on its home court Wednesday night. Set scores were 25-15, 25-18, 25-22.

Canyons (4-1) has now defeated state-ranked opponents in back-to-back contests with the first such win coming over No. 19 Grossmont last weekend at the annual El Camino Tri. COC's lone loss this season came in the season opener at No. 8 Irvine Valley College.

The loss sufered by the Vaqueros was the fifth straight for SBCC (2-5) which had started the season with two wins out of the gate.

The Cougars saw three players reach eight kills with usual suspects Kaelyn White, Aly Grodell and Jacqueline Ibarra all continuing to shine. 

Grodell hit .500 for the match to go with a pair of aces and two block assists. Grace Rodriguez led the way with three aces, 16 assists and seven digs. 

Abby Sherman's 11 digs were a game high and Brianna Botello led he squad with a .545 hitting percentage, along with six kills and five digs.

Top Performers

• Brianna Botello — 3 SP, 6 K, 2 BA, 5 digs, .545
• Aly Grodell — 3 SP, 8 K, 2 SA, 2 BS, 4 digs, .500
• Jacqueline Ibarra — 3 SP, 8 K, .333
• Grace Rodriguez — 3 SP, 16 A, 3 SA, 7 digs
• Abby Sherman — 3 SP, SA, 11 digs
• Ariana Vargas — 3 SP, 7 K, 2 SA, 4 digs
• Kaelyn White — 3 SP, 8 K, 2 BA

Upcoming Schedule

The Cougars will next head south to the annual San Diego Mesa Quad tourney with matches vs. the host No. 6 state ranked Olympians and No. 17 Mira Costa College on Friday, Sept. 9. On Saturday, Sept. 10, Canyons will face No. 12 Cypress and No. 22 Mt. San Jacinto College.

Canyons returns to its home court on Wednesday, Sept. 14 for a match vs. No. 11 Pasadena City College for a non-conference contest, and anticipated rematch between two programs that last met during the Cougars' 2022 playoff run. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. with live stream coverage on the Cougars Sports Network.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo by Mari Kneisel / COC Sports Information