Gauchos tie up Rustlers in four

The Saddleback women's volleyball team finished off the regular season with a four-set victory over Golden West College on Wednesday night in Huntington Beach.  The Gauchos will now find out their playoff fate today.

Saddleback was slow to crank up the engine, falling in the opening set 27-25.  The Gauchos then cleared up the mistakes in sweeping the next three sets 25-17, 25-14 and 25-19.

With the win, the Gauchos finished in third place in the Orange Empire Conference. The Gauchos will now look forward to the playoffs, which could start as early as Saturday or as late as Tuesday, depending on the seed. 

"The ladies are really excited to show what they have," head coach Brian Hughes said.  "We feel like we can play with anyone."

Saddleback received great performances all around on Wednesday night in the win over Golden West.  Antonette Rolda recorded 38 assists, which was her third highest total of the season.  Kendall Nolan (12), Helena Lawson (10) and Lauren Whitehouse (10) all finished in double-digits in kills while Natalee Gray led the team with 10 digs. 

In addition to the good work on the court on Wednesday, Saddleback also found out that four players had made the All-Orange Empire Conference Team.  Kelli Dowell and Antonette Rolda made the first team while Kendall Nolan and Avie Butsko were named to the second team.

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