American River College’s volleyball team is fresh off of a top-five ranked win against rival Sierra College. ARC hosted Modesto Junior College on Nov. 13, where the Beavers came away with a convincing 3-0 win.
The Beavers took advantage of some early mistakes by Modesto, jumping out to a 6-2 run to start things off. MJC would rally all the way back from that Beaver run to tie it 10-10, however ARC put them away with a 15-3 run. An attack error on Modesto gave ARC the 25-13 first set win.
The Beavers carried the momentum and started the second set with an 8-3 run. However the Pirates refused to back down, crawling back into the game after scoring four straight points.
ARC answered right back with a 12-3 run, making it 22-13. A kill on a third set point by freshman Kyla Powell gave the Beavers a 25-18 second set win, setting them up to take the sweep.
The Beavers got off to a sloppy start in the beginning of set three. A service error by sophomore Sofia MacPherson, and a couple quick points for MJC gave the Pirates a 3-0 early advantage. ARC never wavered and launched a 7-1 run, giving them the lead.
Modesto kept chipping away at the lead and managed to tie it at 14-14. A kill by sophomore Morgan Castaneda gave the Beavers a 15-14 lead. ARC never gave the lead away from that point on.
A huge kill by sophomore Celestine Hayes gave the Beavers match point, which set up sophomore Lacey Frailey to seal the sweep and ninth straight win for ARC.
The nine-game winning streak dates back to Oct. 11, when the Beavers swept the same Modesto team.
The winning streak also includes two victories over California Community College Athletics Association top-five ranked conference opponents Sierra and San Joaquin Delta. The Beavers record improved to 24-4 overall and 13-2 in conference.
“The more we stay connected, the better we play every single day,” said sophomore Ellie Basquez following the win.
The win over Modesto, coupled with a Cosumnes River upset over Delta, moved the Beavers into a tie with Sierra for the top spot in the Big 8 conference standings.
ARC will wrap up the regular season when they host Sacramento City College on Nov. 16. Then they will await their seed placement in the Northern California regional playoffs, set to take place in late November.
