Cats open OEC play with big win

The Saddleback women's volleyball team opened Orange Empire Conference play with a five-set victory over Golden West College on Wednesday night in Huntington Beach.  The Bobcats outlasted the Rustlers in a grueling match, looking to defend its OEC title from a season ago.

Saddleback won the conference title in 2023 for the first time in 25 years, so it had been quite a while since going from the hunter to the hunted.  The Bobcats passed the opening test, winning an exhausting battle for what could be an important win down the road.

Saddleback was coming off a frustrating five-set loss in non-conference play to Ventura College a week earlier, so it was a great turn of events with a mostly new lineup. The Bobcats battled back from a 1-2 deficit to turn aside the Rustlers in a great show of determination.

Saddleback and Golden West were tied at 1-1 when the third set turned into a marathon.  Golden West managed to pull out a 29-27 victory in the set, thus putting the Bobcats at a disadvantage.  Unlike last week, Saddleback turned up the juice and never wavered, cruising past the Rustlers for a 25-17 victory in the fourth set to force a fifth and final set for all the marbles. 

Saddleback and Golden West had to go past the race to 15 to decide a winner, as neither team wanted to give an inch.  The Bobcats prevailed with a 17-15 win, thus passing the opening test in defense of its 2023 conference title. 

Congrats goes out to Lulu Utterback, who played her first volleyball of the season and finished with a team-high 24 kills on the night.  Brynn Craig-Kromm led the team with 29 digs while Sophie Vienna led the team with 58 assists.

Saddleback is now 5-3 overall and 1-0 in OEC play.  The Bobcats will continue conference play on Friday at Fullerton College (2-6, 0-2).  Saddleback and Fullerton are scheduled to start at 6:00 PM in Fullerton.