Gauchos take over second place

The Saddleback women's volleyball team swept past Santa Ana College, 3-0, on Wednesday night inside the Saddleback Gymnasium.  The Gauchos are now in sole possession of second place in the Orange Empire Conference.

Saddleback opened the night in a tie for second place, and with eighth place Santa Ana on the schedule it was a good opportunity to move into second place all alone.  The Gauchos swept past the Lady Dons 25-19, 25-18, 25-19, and with it overtook Cypress, who was busy falling to Irvine Valley.

Saddleback looked good in all areas, boasting a .394 kill percentage for the night.  The Gauchos were led on offense by Helena Lawson, who was 16-of-22 on kill attempts to lead the way.  Mandy Sides and Avie Butsko were also solid, finishing with 11 and nine kills, respectively.

Kelli Dowell was a force on defense, finishing with a team-high 19 digs.  Kiana Camargo (22) and Antonette Rolda  (17) led the team in assists.

Saddleback has the rest of the week off to prepare for a showdown with top-ranked Irvine Valley College  next week.  The Gauchos will host the Lasers next Wednesday night at 6:00 PM.