It was a much-needed victory for the Rio Hondo College women's volleyball. With a possible at-large Southern California Regional Playoffs berth on the line, the No. 4-seeded Roadrunners defeated No. 3 Pasadena City College 3-1 in the third-place game of the South Coast Conference tournament on Tuesday in Long Beach.
After dropping the opening set to the Lancers, Rio Hondo rallied to capture the final three and win the match by scores of 19-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18. The Roadrunners improved to 15-11 overall and closed out the conference schedule with a 9-8 record.
Rio Hondo will learn its playoff fate on Thursday at the Southern California postseason coaches meeting. The Roadrunners currently hold the No. 15 spot among SoCal regional teams in RPI and likely should receive a spot in the postseason. Rio Hondo looks to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
On Tuesday, sophomore Nicole Vasquez put together a huge match to lead the Roadrunners with 14 kills, 14 digs, and 5 aces in the win over Pasadena.
Off the bench, Ariel Garcia contributed 8 kills and Vania Maciel posted 6 kills.
Janine Coria added 14 digs and 5 aces, Danielle Betancourt had 5 kills and 3 blocks, and Stephanie Perez chipped in with 13 digs. Aliah Trujillo led the offense with 37 assists to go along with 10 digs.
Tuesday's victory over Pasadena snapped a nine-match losing streak to the Lancers, dating back to 2015.
