Spartans' exciting season ends in C.C.C.A.A. SoCal Regional

In one of the most memorable seasons for the MiraCosta College women's volleyball team in recent memory, in which they went undefeated in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference - North Division and earned a ranking as high as No. 6 in the California Community College Athletic Association, the Spartans' season came to a close at the hands of Moorpark College, 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 26-24), on Tuesday night.

It was not just one of the best seasons for women's volleyball, but was arguably one of the strongest seasons for any team in any sport during the last two decades of MiraCosta College athletics history.

After coming out of the conference slate unscathed, MiraCosta lost each of its final three matches of the regular season, all against teams now ranked in the C.C.C.A.A. top 25. Moorpark came into the match with a state ranking of No. 23.

In the fourth and final set, MiraCosta fought back with a 7-0 run featuring two kills by Claire Kinder to go ahead 10-7. Then, with an 18-12 lead, looked poised to force a fifth game. However, an 11-2 run for Moorpark quickly flipped the script and put the pressure back on the Spartans.

A Raider service error and a kill by Claudia Mathews made it a one-point defecit at 23-22, and then down 24-22, MiraCosta scored two more points to tie it as Maddison Penrod and Mathews combined for a block to send the home crowd into a frenzy. But, it was not meant to be as the Raiders took the next two points to seal the upset win.

Early in the match, the Spartans looked strong, using an 8-1 run in the first set to go ahead 12-9, and then after a 22-22 tie, finishing it off with a kill by sophomore Madeleine Alper and two kills by Violeti Faleumu.

MiraCosta led early in each of the next two sets, 7-3 in the second and 10-6 in the third, but was done in each time by Moorpark runs in which the Spartans were shutout. Seven straight Raider points made it 17-11 in the second to put MiraCosta behind, and then six straight points in the third turned a 14-9 Spartan lead into a one-point Moorpark advantage.

Another stretch of consecutive points for Moorpark ended the third set as as 20-20 tie finished with a 25-20 win for the Raiders.

The Spartans, who entered the postseason with the No. 4 seed in the SoCal Regional, finished with a 23-6 overall record. The Raiders, who entered as the No. 13 seed, will take their 17-8 record onto the second round.