No. 4 Canyons Upsets No. 1 SBCC to Advance to CCCAA State Championship Tourney

After a big playoff win last night, the College of the Canyons women's volleyball team is headed to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship for just the second time in school history.

No. 4 Canyons earned that right by upsetting host No. 1 Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-17) in the third round of the SoCal Regional Playoffs on Tuesday.

The COC women's volleyball program last appeared at the State Championship in 2007.

Now the Cougars have the rare opportunity to win a State Championship on their home floor, with College of the Canyons slated to host the four-team, double elimination tourney being held Dec. 5-6.

Canyons (24-2) will be joined by fellow SoCal qualifier L.A. Pierce College (29-1), and NorCal qualifiers Cabrillo College (26-1) and Foothill College (28-1).

On Tuesday, the Cougars battled throughout the first set until SBCC was able to create some separation by pressuring COC from the service line. The Vaqueros held a late 19-11 lead, but the Cougars didn't go away easily, scoring 11 of the next 16 points to close the gap to 22-24.

Santa Barbara sealed the first set at 25-22, but the late surge by the Cougars helped build the momentum needed to eventually put the top seed away.

Canyons looked much more composed early in set two, as both teams continued to exchange points in the early going.

COC was able to pull away thanks to back-to-back ace serves from sophomore defensive specialist Alexis Serafin to give Canyons a 13-9 advantage — it's largest of the match to that point.

The Cougars scored four of the next six points, including an ace serve from sophomore libero Chelsea Corn and a huge kill from freshman outside hitter Emily Bible.

A late push from Santa Barbara gave the Cougars a scare, but a kill from sophomore outside hitter Brooke Garelick and a couple of forced errors gave the set to Canyons at 25-21 to even up the match.

The third set began like the first two, with these two outstanding teams equally determined to earn a berth in the State Championship tourney. 

The Vaqueros took a brief lead late in the set, but once again the Cougars refused to go away.

Trailing 10-15 the Cougars were forced to call a timeout in an effort to regroup and refocus. After that break, Canyons racked back-to-back points to turn the tables and cause SBCC to call a time out of its own.

Two consecutive hitting errors by the Vaqueros later tied the game at 17 apiece, and a third gave COC the lead once again. Kills from Garelick, Bible, and sophomore opposite hitter Alize Bricot then pushed COC ahead 22-20.

The Vaqueros continued to pressure the Cougars and tied the game at 22-22 and again at 24-24. But Canyons was not to be denied, as a tip kill by freshman middle blocker Alexa Hesseldenz and a hitting error by Santa Barbara gave set three to Canyons 26-24.

That momentum definitely carried over to the fourth and final set, as the Cougars were able to take an early 7-4 lead which was quickly extended to 14-9.

A thundering kill by Bible made it 16-12 and COC felt its State Championship berth within reach.

Canyons then extended the advantage to 24-17, as the COC contingent rose to their collective feet in anticipation of what was to come next.

Garelick then moved back to serve on match point. Her strike had just enough on it to trickle over the net and drop in front of the Vaquero front line, giving Canyons the win and a spot at this weekend's state championship.

Canyons out hit Santa Barbara .256 to .160 on the match and held the Vaqueros, known for their tough serving, to just two aces. Meanwhile, the Cougars tallied nine aces on the night.

Statistically, COC was led by the freshmen duo of Bible and Hesseldenz.

Bible, a 2015 First-Team All American and the Western State Conference (WSC) Player of the Year, finished the night with 20 kills and 13 digs.

Hesseldenz, an All-WSC Second Team honoree, had an impressive match with a .500 hitting percentage and a match-high four assisted blocks. Her 13 kills ranked second for the Cougars. 

Garelick, an All-WSC First Team honoree, led the match with 24 digs, adding 11 kills and two aces in the process.

Sophomore libero Chelsea Corn, also an All-WSC First Team selection, finished just behind her teammate with 22 digs and two aces of her own.

Sophomore setter Katie Rutecki, a member of the 2015 CCCAA All-Southern California Regional Team and an All-WSC First Team selection, led the match with 56 assists and also added two aces.

Canyons has now won 15 straight matches dating back to Sept. 30, with the team's last defeat coming in a 3-1 non-conference loss at SBCC. The Cougars have dropped just five sets over that span.

COC will also bring a 20-match home win streak into the State Championship tourney.

The Cougars enter the tournament as SoCal region's No. 2 seed behind top-ranked L.A. Pierce College.

Cabrillo College is the No. 1 team from the NorCal region, with Foothill College following suit at No. 2.

Tournament action begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, with L.A. Pierce and Foothill scheduled to get things started.

Canyons will then take part in the second match of the day, when the Cougars square off vs. Cabrillo College at 4:30 p.m.

The third match of the day will feature the winner of Match 1 (Pierce/Foothill) vs. winner of Match 2 (Canyons/Cabrillo) at 7 p.m. 

Tournament action continues throughout the day on Sunday.

A full tournament bracket and schedule of this weekend's matches can be viewed here.

Per CCCAA guidelines, admission for this weekend's event is $12 for adults and $8 for COC staff and students w/ I.D., seniors over 60 and children under 10. Separate admission is required for Saturday and Sunday.

For those who cant make it to the game, www.SoCalCollegeSports.com will be providing a live stream of the event. That broadcast can also be accessed via www.COCathletics.com.

As always, the COC Sports Information Department will be providing live game updates throughout the weekend via Twitter and Instagram with fans able to follow along @COCathletics.