Gauchos split at the beach

The Saddleback women's beach volleyball team split two matches on Friday in Huntington Beach, falling to Santa Ana College before beating Bakersfield College.  Both matches were played in 20 mile-per-hour winds.

When people think about beach volleyball, they generally picture a sunny day at the beach with warm temperatures.  That was not the case on Friday as temperatures never got above 55 degrees and the wind was blowing hard enough to make it jacket weather. 

Saddleback had a tough time dealing with the elements in the opening match in falling to Santa Ana, 3-2.  They used that experience to bounce back for a 3-2 win against Bakersfield in the final match of the day.

Saddleback trailed 2-1 in the match against Bakersfield, needing to pull out both of the final matches in order to pick up a team win.  Kiana Camargo and Samantha Senske evened the score at 2-2 when they went to a third and final set against Lanie Camarillo and Jessica Merante.  The Gaucho duo (pictured) squeaked out a 15-12 win to send things over to court three where the team match would be decided. 

The final point would be decided by Saddleback's combination of Jillian Hewitt and Ireland Ridill, who were facing Bakersfield's Sarah Lopez and Julianna Strode.  The Gauchos jumped out to a quick lead in the final set and never looked back, winning 15-8. 

Saddleback's top pair of Ayla Fresenius and Nickie Hughes were once again dominant on Friday, winning both matches.  The duo is now 6-1 on the season.

Saddleback now stands at 4-3 on the season and 1-1 in Orange Empire Conference play. The Gauchos will play again next Friday when they host Orange Coast College at the OC Great Park.  Match time with the Pirates is scheduled for 11:00 AM.

BAKERSFIELD BOX SCORE

1's  Ayla Fresenius & Nickie Hughes (SC) def. Penelope Zepeda & Morgan Townson (BC) 21-7, 21-10
2's  Kiana Camargo & Samantha Senske (SC) def. Lanie Camarillo & Jessica Merante (BC) 21-14, 14-21, 15-12
3's  Jillian Hewitt & Ireland Ridill (SC) def. Sarah Lopez & Julianna Strode (BC) 19-21, 21-19, 15-8
4's  Precious Gonsalez & Kohra Garcia (BC) def. Samantha Dougher & Serenity Broome (SC) 5-21, 21-19, 15-7
5's  Jade Johnson & McKenzie Villavazo (BC) def. Hayden Black & Kayla Castillo (SC) 21-16, 21-16