LONG BEACH – While Rio Hondo College's South Coast Conference showdown at Long Beach City College had lost some of its luster, the victory was still just as satisfying.
The Roadrunners and Vikings appeared on a collision course for battle of conference unbeatens on Wednesday at LBCC. Unfortunately, Long Beach suffered an upset loss on Friday. Despite the Vikings' setback, the two squads lined up with first place still on the line.
After jumping out to a 2-0 lead over Long Beach, Rio Hondo dropped the next two before coming out on top in a deciding fifth set to pull out a thrilling 25-20, 25-14, 16-25, 19-25, 15-12 victory at the LBCC Hall of Champions Gym.
The win keeps Rio Hondo perfect in South Coast Conference play at 8-0 while Long Beach dropped to 6-2 for second place after the first round of SCC play. Rio Hondo handed Long Beach just its second loss of the season as the Vikings fell to 12-2.
The Roadrunners surged to their ninth straight win and improved to 13-3 overall.
"We came into tonight's match with a goal to finish Round 1 of South Coast Conference 8-0 and our team achieved it," said Rio Hondo head coach Teddi Esko. "It was not an easy task as we competed against a very strong team in Long Beach City.
"But it was a huge win for us tonight," she added. "Our players stayed disciplined and executed the game plan."
CCCWVCA STATE RANKINGS
Earlier in the week, the Roadrunners climbed one spot in the California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association (CCCWVCA) State Poll to No. 13 in this week's rankings.
