With the winner taking over first place in the South Coast Conference South Division, the Cerritos College volleyball team didn't have enough against host Long Beach City College on Friday and lost in straight sets. The Falcons (8-7, 3-1), who are missing three of their starters, including two of their top three hitters, suffered a 16-25, 13-25, 22-25 South Division decision. The team will look to rebound next Thursday at 6:00 p.m. against Mt. San Antonio College, who leads the South Coast Conference North Division.

Cerritos scored the first point of the match and then surrendered the next six points. The closest they would get would be down 8-5, as the Vikings scored points in bunches. The win was the seventh in a row for Long Beach City (9-8, 3-0). On four occasions in the second set, LB City scored at least three straight points after a Falcons kill. A service error by the Vikings that made the score 7-5, which was followed by four consecutive points. And when Danna Higuera (Gahr HS) posted a kill, Long Beach City followed that with three more points.

The third set saw the two teams trade with first 12 points, which consisted of four Vikings attack errors, as well as a service error mixed in with a kill from Jordin Lewis (Warren HS). The Falcons then opened an 11-8 lead, thanks to a kill from Lewis and a service ace by Margaret Norton (La Mirada HS). Tiffany Teats (Warren HS) gave Cerritos a 13-12 lead after a kill, while a 14-12 lead quickly became a 14-14 tie. The Falcons looked to start pulling ahead, 16-14 only to see the Vikings once again tie the match at 16-16 and then went ahead, 17-16. Elizabeth Beltran (Santa Fe HS) tied the set at 17-17 with a kill until once again LBCC scored a pair of points to open a 19-17 advantage.

Coming out of a timeout, the Vikings scored three more points in a row to open up a 22-17 lead before an attack error ended the five-point swing. However, Cerritos was able to stave off dropping the third set for a short time after an LBCC attack error and a service ace from Roselyn Tobie (Maxine Waters HS). Facing match point, a Vikings service error and a kill from Lewis kept the Falcons in the match, as they pulled to within 22-24. Long Beach then closed out the match by scoring the next point.

Beltran led the team with eight kills and added six digs, with Lewis and Teats each producing five kills. Tobie led the back row with 11 digs and also contributed five assists.