Cats beat Golden West to keep pace

 The Saddleback women's volleyball team remains a half-game out of first place in the Orange Empire Conference after a 3-1 victory over Golden West College on Friday night inside the gymnasium.  The Bobcats are 12-4 overall.

Saddleback took advantage of some careless play by the Rustlers in the first two games in racing to a 2-0 lead. The Bobcats beat Golden West 25-17 and 25-16, taking advantage of a number of unforced errors by the Rustlers while serving up a bevy of aces.

Golden West turned the tables in set three with a 25-14 win, which seemed to turn the momentum heading into set four.  The Bobcats bounced back with a 25-23 win in set four to close out the match.

Saddleback finished with a .248 kill percentage, led by the combination of Delaney Wilson, Cori Willcoxson and Meghna Trujillo.  Wilson finished with a team-high 27 kills on 23-of-50 attempts (.320) while Willcoxson finished with 20 kills and Trujillo six.  The trio was 49-of-123 (.398) for the night.

Saddleback finished with 10 service aces on the night, with Willcoxson and Meg Gardner leading the team with three apiece.  Sophie Vienna led the team in both assists (46) and digs (31).

Saddleback is now 12-4 overall and 8-1 in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play.  The Bobcats continue conference play at home on Wednesday against Fullerton College.  The Bobcats and Hornets are set to start at 6:00 PM inside the gymnasium.