Hawks Fall to Falcons In Conference Opener

FOLSOM (9-14) - Starting off Big 8 Conference play, Cosumnes River traveled to Folsom Lake College to take on the host Falcons. In this match, the Falcons won 3-0 for their first conference victory of the season and the fifth overall. 

The first set saw the Hawks come out slowly, spotting the Falcons a 7-0 lead out of the gate. The rest of the first set saw the two teams trade points off and on with both teams going on small runs. After all was said and done, the Hawks fell by the score of 25-14. Taryn Oberle led the Hawks with three kills on four swings and a .750 hit percentage. Ashanti Cason and Kylie Pires each chipped in two kills of their own on seven swings apiece. 

The second set started out better for the Hawks. With both teams trading points off and on, the score was much close this time around. Oberle and Ashlee Dandeneau both earned three kills apiece with Pires adding two of her own. On the defensive side, the Hawks collected twenty digs during the second set. Abigail Hicks was tied with Pires with 6 digs during the tightly contested second set. Rebakkah McLaughlin put up eight assists, along with three digs and two blocks. In a close set until the end, the Hawks fell 25-18.

In the third set, the Hawks were determined to end the match strongly and put up twenty three points in the third set. McLaughlin posted seven assists as well as contributing four kills during the set. Pires put up another four kills during the set. Hicks once again lead the team with five digs during the third set. Larissa Vogelbacher and Dandeneau both added four digs of their own. Elizabeth Smith earned two blocks while getting touches on multiple Falcon attacks.

Quote of the Game:

"We would have loved to earn a victory to start the season, but we are proud of our team. It would have been easy to give up after struggling to start off the first set, but we continued to fight and improve as the match went on. Folsom is a strong team, and we showed ourselves that we can hang with them. We look forward to this week of practice so that we can build on this solid start."
- Brandon Merritt, Assistant Coach

Player of the Game: 

Taryn Oberle Middle Hitter Freshman

Key Statistics: 8 Kills .388 Hit %

Up Next - The Hawks will continue their road trip on Wednesday as they take on Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa.