An injury-plagued Cerritos Falcons volleyball team was forced to utilize its depth and was able to carry out lengthy rallies but lost in three sets against Golden West College on Sept. 17.
Attack errors by Cerritos led to its early 2-0 deficit as the team totaled 28 attack errors but received 74 digs from the defense as it was able to rally late in the final set but fell short.
Freshman outside hitter Elizabeth Beltran returned to the lineup for the Falcons, but it was without sophomore Daniela Luna, who leads the team in blocks.
The first set also saw freshman Isabela Torres exit with an apparent injury, which forced head coach Ashleigh Atsaros to make adjustments and make use of players who have also not seen much playing time due to injury.
“We just have a lot of girls playing different positions,” Atsaros said. “We have a DS (defensive specialist) playing outside and we have a middle who hasn’t practiced with us in a month coming to play in the game today because of injury.”
“We’ve had tons of injuries. We lost our starting middle, she tore her ACL. So, we don’t have the depth to make up for the injuries. We’re doing the best we can,” she added.
Bre’ion Thomas had been out this season with an ankle injury and then received stitches during the team’s road trip to San Diego earlier this season. She missed several practices but came into her first game of the season and contributed with 3 kills and 2 blocks.
“I haven’t played a game since we started the season and coach just threw me in really,” Thomas said.
She noted her role as a substitution player and said, “I try to match their energy as much as I can. If I see them down, get louder. That’s really my thing. Get loud.”
“I don’t get to play that much, so I just try to use my time to encourage them as much as I can,” she added.
Kills by Thomas and Jordin Lewis helped the Falcons close a wide deficit in the final set but ultimately lost it 26-24.
Beltran posted 11 kills and 10 digs in her return.
Lewis led the Falcons with 12 kills and libero Roselyn Tobie had a match-high 25 digs.
Golden West outside hitter Jalissa Costa led the match with 15 kills.
Cerritos followed up with a 3-0 loss at Pasadena City College on Sept. 19 and now holds a 4-6 record.
“It’s just definitely out of the ordinary, and they’re going to have to step it up for conference,” Atsaros said about the team’s adjustments.
“The expectation is whoever’s on the court, you still have to play your hardest and you still have to run the same system. Everybody knows the same system. Expectations are the same, standards are the same,” Atsaros said.
Cerritos will play one more road game against East Los Angeles College on Sept. 26 before returning home on Oct. 1 for its first conference match of the season against El Camino College.
