Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Chargers Take Grossmont to the Limit in Five Set Loss

Chargers nearly upset Grossmont to finish season.
 
El Cajon, Calif. - The No. 14 seeded Cypress College women's volleyball team nearly upset third-seeded Grossmont College in the first round of the CCCAA Southern California regional playoffs on Tuesday.

The Chargers bounced back from a first set loss to take the match to five games, but the Griffins to were able to pull out a win at home, and hand Cypress a 2-3, (20-25, 25-22, 25-27, 25-22, 19-17) loss.

Cypress wasn't about to go down without a fight after dropping its opening game, and answered back with a 25-22 come-from-behind win that included an 8-2 run to end the game.

The Chargers let an early 11-4 lead slip away in the third game, and allowed Grossmont to rally for a 27-25 victory that gave the Griffins a 2-1 edge in the match.

Kelsey Mersey closed out a fourth set win for Cypress with three straight kills that sealed a 25-22 win, and evened the match at 2-2 .

In a deciding fifth game, Cypress had a chance to put the Griffins out of the playoffs for the second straight season up 15-14 and serving, but Grossmont survived a long rally to tie the match at 15-15.

The two squads traded the next two goals before Grossmont was able to string together two straight to win the fifth 19-17, and slip away with a rare victory over Cypress in the playoffs.

Mersey led Cypress with a team-high 22 kills, while Holly Webster finished with 19 digs in her first playoff match.

The Chargers' season didn't turn out like they would have hoped, but this young team will return a lot of talent next season. That should put Cypress back on track to make its third trip to the State Championship Tournament in four years.