The Cerro Coso Coyotes opened Inland Empire Athletic Conference play at home on October 1st, battling the College of the Desert Roadrunners in a five-set thriller. After trading momentum throughout the night, Desert came out on top with a 3-2 victory (21-25, 28-26, 20-25, 25-21, 15-5). The Coyotes struck first, taking the opening set, but the Roadrunners answered in a tight second frame. Both teams continued to push, with Cerro Coso claiming the third before Desert forced a decisive fifth set. The Roadrunners controlled the final stretch, pulling away to secure the match and their first conference win.
Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
Cerro Coso volleyball went into its Inland Empire Athletic Conference home opener on Wednesday on a four-game winning streak while playing some of its best volleyball of the season. The young Coyotes were up against the No. 14 ranked College of the Desert.
It was the Coyotes' second matchup against a ranked opponent, and they took the fight to the Roadrunners, even having a chance to earn a huge upset win. But the Roadrunners found a way to avoid the upset, defeating the Coyotes in five, 21-25, 28-26, 20-25, 25-21, and 15-5.
Coyotes coach James Belluscio said on the loss, "obviously one we could have had and one we wanted really bad. The effort is always there from this team. We are a gritty team just learning lessons. We have a lot of freshmen, and sometimes winning gets tough and you have to punch back and show some resiliency. I think they stole some momentum at crucial moments, and it cost us down the stretch, but I'm proud of this team. We are learning, and we are so much better than we were a week ago."
Both times the Coyotes faced a ranked opponent — Wednesday against Desert and on Sept. 17 against No. 8 Taft — and both games went the full five sets. But both games ended in losses for the Coyotes, who have a young squad with many freshmen playing significant minutes and learning to play at the collegiate level. Belluscio spoke on his team learning to win and hoping they see they can play with any team in conference.
He said, "that is part of it, and what I just told the team in the huddle, this is a life lesson. Things are not going to come easy. We are rebuilding this program, and teams are going to come in with a chip on their shoulders expecting to beat us. I think we are doing a good job of weathering that storm, proving to a lot of people this is a different product, a different program. I would have loved to get the win, but I couldn't be prouder of this team, and I think we will come out better because of this."
He continued, "we will see, and it's hard to tell right now because they are crushed. But at the same time, that is the message we are giving them. I hope they start believing that as well. College volleyball is hard; volleyball is a fickle sport. One thing can go wrong and it can kind of blow up a set on us. That is part of maturing and realizing that every part is going to be a battle, and you are going to lose some of the battles, but you have to win the war. And that takes a lot of mental strength and a lot reps, a lot of experience, which we are going to get more of."
In the first set, Jasmine Seraaj scored six points during her serve with two kills and a block from Jiana Alcaraz-Carter and a kill from Kori Phillips to take a 10-5 lead. Desert showed its experience and fought back, but the Coyotes, riding the crowd's cheering, were able to take a 16-15 lead after a block and kill from Phillips.
Both teams continued to trade points, and Seraaj was up to serve with a 19-17 lead. She scored two points with an ace and a block from Alcaraz-Carter for a 21-18 lead. Three kills from Brooke Murphy gave the team a 23-19 lead, a 24-20 lead, and the set winner 25-21.
The second set had the Coyotes and Roadrunners stay close with each team trading points. Cerro Coso would tie the set and take the lead, but Desert would respond tying the set and then retaking the lead. That continued until the game was tied at 9-9, and Desert went on a 4-0 run for a 13-9 lead.
The Coyotes showed their resilience and ability to play with any team as they fought back to tie the set at 24-24 after Isabella Chavez scored four points during her serve with an ace and a kill from Carlie Kramer. Cerro Coso scored the next point, but Desert scored to tie the set at 25-25. The Roadrunners scored next, and the Coyotes responded with a kill from Phillips after a long rally with multiple diving digs from the Coyotes' backline. But the visitors scored the next two, tying the match at 1-1 with a 28-26 win.
Cerro Coso had a great start in the third set, jumping out to an early 19-9 lead. Chavez twice and Seliah Smith had strong serves, and Kramer Murphy and Lexi Higer all had kills during the run. But the Roadrunners showed their experience and chipped away at the Coyotes' lead, eventually cutting it to two points, 20-18. Big kills from Phillips helped the team seal a 25-20 set win and lead 2-1 with a chance to earn its first conference win of the season.
In the fourth set, the Coyotes rode the momentum to lead 4-3 after Murphy's serving that included an ace. But the Coyotes struggled to score, and momentum swung to Desert as the visitors went on a 16-11 run for a 19-14 lead. Back-to-back errors from the home team gave Desert a 21-15 lead, but kills from Kramer were not enough as the Coyotes fell 25-21.
With the match tied at 2-2, the Coyotes and Roadrunners went to a winner-take-all fifth set. Desert jumped out to an early 4-0 lead until Murphy scored on a kill. After the visitors scored, Phillips scored on a kill to cut the deficit to 5-2. Desert scored the next two points, and Cerro Coso scored on the opponent not being able to keep a rally alive. That was the halfway point, and the sides were switched for the second half of the fifth set.
Desert continued to score until a Phillips kill cut the deficit to 10-4. After two Roadrunner points, Murphy scored the final Coyotes point on a kill, 12-5. Desert scored the next three points for the match winner.
Cerro Coso continues Inland Empire Athletic Conference action hosting Mt. San Jacinto on Friday at 5 p.m. Looking ahead to the game, the Coyotes coach said what he wants to see from his players as they look to bounce back: "same thing, we have to come in with high effort, high energy, and high belief, and I think we will be alright."