COSTA MESA – The 2023 Rio Hondo College women's volleyball season got off to a rough start. On Friday, the Roadrunners suffered a five-set loss (14-25, 17-25, 27-25, 25-22, 15-13) to Santa Monica College to open a three-way event and closed out the day with a 3-1 loss (16-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-16) to host Orange Coast College.

Rio Hondo appeared to be on its way to an early win after taking the first two sets against Santa Monica. But the Corsairs outlasted the Roadrunners 27-25 in Set 3 before going on to edge Rio Hondo over the final two sets.

Sophomore Maria Bejines had a big match for the Roadrunners as she led her squad with 20 kills and 15 digs. Jayleen Garcia added 9 kills while Madison Mader and Loren Forster chipped in with 5 kills. On defense, Mader, Jasmin Miramontes, and Herlinda Casanova totaled 14 digs each.

The Roadrunners got off to another good start against the host Pirates, taking the opening set before Orange Coast rallied to take the final three.

Jade Fuentes was solid for Rio Hondo, putting up 13 kills and 17 digs. Casanova had a team-best 26 digs, while Bejines totaled 5 kills and 14 digs.

Rio Hondo returns to action on Wednesday (Aug. 30) in search of its first win. The Roadrunners host Fullerton College in its home opener at 5 p.m.