SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The 23rd-ranked College of the Canyons volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) on Friday evening at the Cougar Cage.
Freshman Serena LeDuff led the team with nine kills on .292 hitting, while freshman Lauren Underwood had five. Freshman Sage Hernandez turned in eight kills on a team-best .467 hitting. Sophomore setter Ashleigh Tippet paced the offense with 23 assists, while the defense was led by LeDuff who had 13 digs. Henandez had a career-best night with her six blocks and freshman Camari McWright netted three blocks.
For the match, COC hit .190 against the Pirates, totaling 35 kills, six aces, 38 digs and 10.0 blocks.
Canyons opened up the first set with a 9-7 lead, but Ventura came charging back and tied up the lead frame 17-17. The Cougars won the next two points and the Pirates were forced to take a timeout. The brief break did not stop the Cougars as they saw McWright post two blocks and Jordan Carter punch in a kill to secure the first set for COC, 25-20.
The Cougars leapt out to a 14-12 lead in the second stanza and the Pirates took a timeout. From there, Canyons let Ventura get as close as one point, 20-19, after a service error from Tippet. The Pirates and Cougars exchanged points, but COC was able to string together a kill and a block to take a 23-20 lead. Ventura took its second timeout of the set, but again, COC came out and won the next two points and closed out the set, 25-20.
Canyons opened up the final set with a 4-1 lead. COC gave up a handful of points off hitting errors, but the Cougars were still able to hold on to the lead. College of the Canyons closed out the set on a 9-5 run, giving COC a 25-19 win.
Canyons returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 2, as they travel to Allan Hancock for a 6 p.m. match.
