Women's Volleyball: Rio Hondo opens with tough weekend at Pierce

It was a tough start to the 2017 season for the Rio Hondo College women's volleyball team as the Roadrunners went 0-4 at the 3rd annual Pierce Kickoff Classic tournament on Friday-Saturday at LA Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

Three of the four teams the Roadrunners faced qualified for the Southern California Regional Playoffs last season with host Pierce advancing to the CCCAA State Championship final. Despite dropping all four matches by scores of 3-0, the Roadrunners gained valuable experience as they continue the road to South Coast Conference North Division play.

Over four matches, sophomore outside hitter Victoria Martinez totaled 23 kills and 20 digs to lead the Roadrunners.

Pierce 3, Rio Hondo 0
Rio Hondo likely faced one of its toughest opponents of the season in its opening match as the Roadrunners took on a Pierce squad that lost in the state championship final. The Roadrunners didn't back down, but ultimately lost by scores of 25-19, 25-20, and 25-14.

Sophomore outside hitter Bree Newton led Rio Hondo with 11 digs and 4 kills while freshman libero Sara Harding chipped in with 8 digs.

Bakersfield 3, Rio Hondo 0
The Roadrunners closed the day's action with a 25-17, 25-9, 25-12 loss to Bakersfield College. Rio Hondo couldn't keep up with an efficient Bakersfield offense that hit .421 on the match and made just 8 attack errors.

Freshman outside hitter Michell Chavez-Valdivia led the Rio Hondo offense with 6 kills. Freshman setter Mia Torres added 19 assists and Harding totaled 16 digs.

Golden West 3, Rio Hondo 0
Attack errors once again hurt Rio Hondo in a 25-11, 25-19, 25-16 loss to the Golden West Rustlers on Saturday. The Roadrunners managed to hit just .053 in the defeat.

Martinez put together her best match of the weekend, as she totaled 8 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore opposite Michelle Hawkins added 6 kills while sophomore libero Natalie Magallon had a team-high 14 digs.

Pasadena 3, Rio Hondo 0
Rio Hondo played its best match of the weekend in a hard-luck loss to SCC North Division foe Pasadena. The Roadrunners battled, but lost by scores of 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 to close the tourney.

Newton paced the RHC offense with 9 kills and Martinez posted her second straight solid match with 7 kills. Torres led with 12 assists and freshman libero Mia Ponce chipped in with 7 digs.

Rio Hondo (0-4) will look to pick up its first win of the season when the Roadrunners compete at the Orange Coast College Quad on Wednesday (Sep. 30)