Owls Battle but Fall to No. 9 Santa Monica in Straight Sets

Citrus College Volleyball came up short against state-ranked No. 9 Santa Monica College, falling in straight sets 3-0 (17-25, 20-25, 22-25) on Friday night, October 3.

With the result, the Owls move to 9-8 overall and 1-2 in Western State Conference play, while the Corsairs improve to 14-4 overall and remain unbeaten in conference at 3-0.

Despite the sweep, Citrus battled throughout the night and pushed Santa Monica in several tightly contested sets. Emma Cristales paced the Owls with 10 kills, seven digs, and an ace. Naomi Dominguez followed with nine kills, a solo block, a block assist, and an ace. Sophia Martinez added eight kills, nine digs, and two aces.

At the net, setters Lily Whitney and Justine Gonzalez distributed 14 and 13 assists, respectively. Defensively, Sammi Rivard anchored the back row with a team-high 16 digs.

Citrus will continue conference action on the road next Friday, October 10, when they face West LA College at 6 p.m.