No. 5 Canyons Holds Off No. 19 Bakersfield 3-1

The No. 5 ranked College of the Canyons women's volleyball team successfully held off visiting No. 19 Bakersfield College to win 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23) on Friday night.

The Cougars (16-2, 6-0) have won their last 25 matches vs. Western State Conference (WSC), South opponents and 29 of their last 30 dating back to 2013.

The program's last conference loss came at the hands of Bakersfield College in a 3-0 home defeat on October 25, 2013.

Despite dropping its first set in conference play, COC were very efficient offensively. 

For the match, the Cougars hit a combined .416 with 64 kills, for an average of 16 points per set just on offense.

In the first set COC hit a remarkable .600 with 17 kills and only two hitting errors. 

In the set it dropped, Canyons kept it close because the team was able to earn 17 points by way of the kill, while only committed three hitting errors for a .378 hitting percentage.

The only real dip offensively came in the fourth and final set with the Cougars hitting .289 with 16 kills. However, those numbers were enough to keep the match from going a fifth set as COC was able to close things out.

Canyons was led offensively by freshman outside hitter Emily Bible who hit .483 with 16 kills and added 11 digs to help the Cougar defense. 

Sophomores Erica Magee and Brooke Garelick each tallied 12 kills. Magee hit .550 and only committed one hitting error, while Garelick hit .435 and added eight digs of her own.

Sophomore opposite hitter Alize Bricot added 11 kills and 13 digs in the match. 

Sophomore setter Katie Rutecki led the match with 51 assists and three aces. Rutekci also added to the defense with 11 digs. 

Sophomore libero Chelsea Corn had a match-high 16 digs.

The Cougars will gear up to start the second half of WSC, South play on Wednesday, Oct. 28, as the team travels to Antelope Valley College for a 6 p.m. start.