No. 24 Canyons Takes 3-1 Road Victory Over No. 18 Santa Monica

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

SANTA MONICA — No. 24 College of the Canyons took to the road for a 3-1 conference victory over No. 18 Santa Monica College on Friday, with the victory pushing the Cougars back to the .500 mark. Set scores were 25-20, 13-25, 25-14, 25-19.

Canyons (8-8, 3-1) has now won three of its last four matches with those victories all coming against Western State Conference (WSC), South Division opponents. The lone loss in that span came in a 3-2 (25-20, 25-15, 20-25, 23-25, 15-13) affair vs. No. 21 Bakersfield College at the Cougar Cage on Wednesday. 

The Cougars, which employed an eight-player rotation on Friday, jumped out to a first-set victory behind the attack of Leah Gillie, Ana Vasquez and Celeste Anaya. Following its second set loss, Canyon hit .480 in the third frame to rally for a 25-14 victory before closing things out in the fourth with a convincing 25-19 score.

Vasquez tied with two others for a game-high 11 kills, with Gillie, Anaya and Sofia Miranda each finishing the game with six kills. 

Canyons also served up seven aces in the match with a team-high three coming from Vasquez. Presley Golphenee added two aces of her own, Vasquez and Golphenee also shared the team-high with nine digs. Morgan Dumlao registered eight digs along with an ace and 23 assists.

COC was also active around the net with a combined 22 block assists and three solo blocks. Anaya finish the match with seven block assists while Dumlao, Gillie and Madison Andrews each chipped in with four. Vasquez' two solo swats were also a team best.

Santa Monica (10-7, 3-1) hit just .143 for the match but featured two Corsairs with double-digit kill totals in Nicole Lankton (11) and Allison Horin (11). SMC also finished with 13 kills in the game. 

The Cougars will have a week off before heading back on the road to take on conference opponent West L.A. College at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18.

Canyons then returns to the Cougar Cage to host Antelope Valley College at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, with that game scheduled to be broadcast live to fans via YouTube 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 X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.  

—Photo by Carla Sophia Velasco/COC Sports Information