Rio Hondo College women's volleyball head coach Teddi Esko would likely call the Roadrunners 3-1 loss at Pasadena City College on Wednesday a missed opportunity. Rio Hondo held late leads in both the opening and second sets, but allowed late PCC rallies in a 26-24, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20 defeat in both teams' South Coast Conference North Division opener.
Rio Hondo's record fell to 6-10 overall and 0-1 in division play.
The Roadrunners were well on their way to taking the opener, building a 14-8 lead while earning set point at 24-23. But the Lancers responded with back-to-back blocks to steal the set win.
In Set 2, Rio Hondo was up 17-14 before once again allowing Pasadena to rally back for the victory. The third nearly saw a repeat, as Rio Hondo was up 21-17 before PCC rallied to jump ahead 22-21. But a kill by Michell Chavez-Valdivia tied up the set while two Lancer errors gave Rio Hondo a 24-22 lead. A PCC kill got them back within one point at 24-23, but Michelle Hawkins was able to deliver the set-winning kill to help Rio Hondo avoid the sweep.
In the fourth, Pasadena (8-8, 1-0 SCC North) led for the majority but Rio Hondo got as close at 19-18. PCC outscored Rio Hondo 6-2 over the rest of the set to take the victory.
Michelle Rosas and Chavez-Valdivia provided most of Rio Hondo's offense on the night. Rosas' 12 kills and Chavez-Valdivia's 11 kills were both season highs. The duo also had eight digs each.
Natalie Magallon also had a big night on defense with a season-best 26 digs while Mia Torres paced the Roadrunners with 19 assists.
Rio Hondo will look to end its two-match slide next Wednesday (Oct. 11) when the Roadrunners host Chaffey College in a 6 p.m. SCC North Division contest.
