Golden West College women's volleyball put up a valiant fight against the powerhouse Orange Coast College but ultimately fell in a tightly contested five-set match, 20-25, 29-27, 22-25, 25-17, 15-9. The Rustlers now sit at 8-12 overall and 6-7 in the Orange Empire Conference, while Orange Coast improves to 19-2 overall and 11-1 in conference play.
Golden West came out strong, taking the first set 25-20 with a solid .270 hitting percentage led by Maren Matthews and Jenna Zaffino. The second set was an intense back-and-forth battle, with Orange Coast narrowly pulling off a 29-27 victory. In the third, the Rustlers pushed hard and took control to edge out a 25-22 win, pulling ahead 2-1 in the match.
Orange Coast rallied to dominate the fourth set 25-17, forcing a decisive fifth. Despite the Rustlers' resilience, the Pirates found their rhythm in the final set, winning 15-9 to clinch the match.
Matthews and Zaffino anchored the offense, combining for 29 kills, while Costa added 13 kills of her own. Varipapa led the defense with 31 digs, and setter Cassandra Zoellers added 51 assists to keep the offense flowing.
Golden West will look to regroup and capitalize on the positives from this match as they aim to close out conference play on a high note.
The Rustlers travel to Santiago Canyon on Friday November 8 for a 6pm start.