Just when the Cerritos College volleyball team welcomed back freshman outside hitter Elizabeth Beltran (Santa Fe HS), they had to figure out a way to adjust without sophomore middle blocker Daniela Luna (Walnut HS/Riverside City College). On Wednesday night, the Falcons saw Beltran return to the lineup after missing the last five matches with an injury. However, the team will be without Luna, who entered the night as the team leader in blocks and second in kills, who went down for the remainder of the season with an injury.

All that, along with freshman Isabela Torres (Gahr HS) getting injured in the first set, contributed to the team's 17-25, 13-25, 24-26 loss to visiting Golden West College. Cerritos (4-5) will now travel to Pasadena City College (8-3) in a South Coast Conference crossover game at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

Looking for the right combination against the Rustlers (4-1), Cerritos struggled at times with a lack of size at the net. But the strength of the team is their defense and they were able to extend many of the points with their back row prowess, which led to a season-high 74 digs over a three-set match.

Although they dropped the first two sets and trailed 8-1 in the third set, the Falcons never stopped working and found themselves in a close battle. Trailing, 20-14, a pair of kills by Beltran, along with kills from freshmen Jordin Lewis (Warren HS) and Bre'ion Thomas (Morningside HS) pulled the team to within 21-19. Never leading in the set, Cerritos gave Golden West a run for their money and were tied, 24-24 after a service error and bad set. But two attack errors by the Falcons sealed the win for Golden West.

In her return, Beltran had 11 kills and 10 digs, with Lewis leading the team with 12 kills and three block assists. Thomas, seeing her first action of the season, added three kills and two block assists, with freshman libero Roselyn Tobie (Maxine Waters HS) leading the back row with 25 digs on the night. Sophomore setter Evelyn Soto-Castro (Schurr HS) recorded 23 assists to go along with 12 digs and three kills.

Photos by Oliver Brice