Porterville Women's Volleyball wins two at Cerritos Tournament

The Porterville College women's volleyball team won two out of its five matches at the highly-competitive Cerritos College Tournament on Friday and Saturday in Norwalk. On Day 1, the Pirates suffered losses to College of the Canyons and San Diego City College before bouncing back with a win over LA Harbor College. On Saturday, Porterville continued its winning ways with a win over Santa Monica College before closing out the tourney with a loss to Orange Coast College.

Canyons 3, Porterville 0
Porterville began play with a 25-21, 25-17, 25-14 loss to No. 14 state-ranked Canyons. Sophomore Kendyl Estes had a team-highs of 8 kills and 12 digs while sophomore Josie Lopez also had 8 kills, 4 aces, and 6 digs. Sophomore Brandy Rico led PC with 20 assists.

San Diego City 3, Porterville 1
Porterville avoided a sweep with a third-set victory but couldn't complete the comeback in a 25-15, 25-15, 24-26, 25-19 loss to San Diego City. Despite the loss, Estes had a huge match with team-highs of 16 kills and 24 digs. She also added 3 blocks and 3 aces. Lopez played well with 10 kills and 13 digs while freshman Heidy Benitez chipped in with 16 digs. Rico paced the Pirates' offense with 32 assists.

Porterville 3, LA Harbor 1
The Pirates picked up their first win of the tourney after beating LA Harbor to close play on Friday evening. PC dropped the first set before rallying back to win the match by scores of 17-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-15. Estes posted a double-double, leading PC once again with 17 kills and 18 digs. Sophomore Callie Albison came off the bench to chip in with 11 digs and 4 aces while Lopez totaled 5 kills, 9 digs and 4 blocks. Sophomore Gretchen Doyle added 4 blocks and served up a pair of aces.

Porterville 3, Santa Monica 0
The Pirates began play on Saturday by earning their second consecutive win of the tournament, a hard-fought sweep of Santa Monica. Porterville opened with a 25-17 victory and then outlasted the Corsairs 29-27 in Set 2. PC closed out the sweep by taking the third 25-23.

Orange Coast 3, Porterville 1
Porterville couldn't keep the momentum going and lost 26-24, 25-15, 21-25, 25-22 to Orange Coast to close out the weekend in Southern California. It was another monster match for Estes with 16 kills and 17 digs. Lopez posted a team-high 19 digs and Benitez added 17 digs of her own. Rico totaled 26 assists and 10 digs while sophomore Shelby Vanasen chipped in with 5 kills, 3 digs, and 2 blocks.

Porterville wrapped up its non-conference schedule with a 3-6 overall record. The Pirates return to the court on Wednesday (Sep. 14) at 6 p.m. when they open Central Valley Conference play at College of the Sequoias. The match is the first of eight consecutive away contests for the Pirates.