Beach Volleyball: Bottom three come through for Rio Hondo in win

It's not always sunny at the beach as was the case for Rio Hondo College on Wednesday in its non-conference match against Orange Coast College in Huntington Beach. But under cold and windy conditions, the Roadrunners persevered and came out on top in a big 3-2 win over the Pirates at the Newland Volleyball Courts.

It was bottom of the Rio Hondo College lineup, including a huge win at No. 4 doubles, that secured the team victory.

After dropping matches at No. 1 and No. 2, the duo of Felipa Moreno and Denyse Perez earned a 21-19, 21-13 win at No. 3 over OCC's Hannah Reid and Shannon Stone. Then, the No. 5 team of Nicole Vasquez and Mia Ponce kept Rio Hondo's hopes alive with a 21-19, 21-15 victory over the Pirates' Lily Johnson and L. Lucrezia.

It all came down to a marathon match at No. 4. After dropping the opening set 20-22 to OCC's Raigan Ramos and Hally Herder, the Rio Hondo team of Evelyn Alferez and Alejandra Lopez rallied back with 21-14 and 15-12 wins to give the Roadrunners the match victory.

"It was up to our 4's to close out the match," said head coach Teddi Esko. "By Set 3, both Rio Hondo and OCC teammates gathered around the court to support their teammates, with all the pressure on them to determine the match.  Evelyn and Alejandra played with such confidence and control, they pulled out the big win."

Complete match results are below:

The win improved Rio Hondo to 3-0 overall this season. The Roadrunners return to the courts on Friday (Feb. 22) for a trio of matches at El Camino College. Rio Hondo will take on Fullerton College, Golden West College, and host El Camino.