No. 5 Canyons Sweeps L.A. Mission 3-0 for Eighth Straight Win

No. 5 College of the Canyons defeated L.A. Mission College 3-0 on Wednesday to earn its eighth consecutive match and fifth straight sweep. Set scores were 25-15, 25-11, and 25-20.

COC sophomore setter Rachel Perez led the Cougars (16-4, 3-0) to another strong performance, posting a .356 hitting percentage and dishing out 32 assists to go along with a match-high five aces.

Sophomore opposite hitter Emily Burns continued her stellar season with another strong overall effort, collecting 16 kills, six digs and four blocks. Shayla Johnson's eight kills and the seven kills turned in by Toni Bito were also key components of the Cougars' victory. On defense, Caroline Page had a match-high 13 digs to go along with her six kills, while libero Demi Dawson had 11 digs. 

Set one saw COC start off strong with Burns collecting four kills in the early going. Although the Cougars maintained a comfortable lead, the turning point of the set came when Page ended a long rally with a crush down the line, opening the lead to 13-7, and forcing a timeout from the Eagles. The Cougars were able to close out the set on a missed serve from L.A. Mission (8-8, 0-2). Burns finished the set with six kills.

Set two was a dominant effort from start to finish for the Cougars as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead behind the strong serving of Perez who collected four aces during the run. She added her fifth ace later in the set as COC rolled to an easy second set win.

In set three, the Cougars once again got off to a strong start, this time behind the serving of Page, whose second ace of the set opened up a 6-1 lead and forced a timeout from the Eagles. L.A. Mission was able to rally and close the lead to 11-8, but the Cougars kept the pressure on, growing the advantage back to five on two kills from Burns. Bito ended the match with a huge kill down the middle.

The Cougars will now hit the road and travel north to face No. 4 Bakersfield College in a match that could decide the fate of the Western State Conferenc, South Division.

Canyons previosuly defeated Bakersfield in four sets in a non-conference match to win the Third Pierce Kickoff Classic in late August.

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.

— Brandon Johnson/COC Sports Information

—Photo credit Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information