Gauchos thrive in five
The Saddleback women's volleyball team rallied for a 3-2 win against Golden West College on Wednesday night in the Saddleback Gymnasium. The Gauchos trailed 2-1 before storming past the Rustlers.
Saddleback entered the night 0-2 in five-set matches this year so it was nice to see the Gauchos turn the tables in a critical Orange Empire Conference match. What made it even more significant was doing it against a storied program like Golden West, a team that came into the match at 8-2 for the year.
Saddleback led in the opening set before Golden West rallied for a 25-23 win. The Gauchos turned the tables in set two, rallying from a 24-20 deficit to win 28-26.
Golden West grabbed back the lead with a 25-22 win in set three. The Gauchos again bounced back with their best set of the night, leading from the outset and cruising to a 25-19 win in forcing a fifth and final set.
Set five looked as if Golden West was going to close out Saddleback, taking an early lead and eventually an 11-7 lead. The Gauchos again rallied, scoring eight of the final 10 points in surging past the Rustlers for a 15-13 win.
Saddleback improved to 7-6 overall and 2-3 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win. The Gauchos will return to the court on Friday when they host Fullerton College (9-6, 4-1) inside the gymnasium.