The MSJC women’s volleyball team swept Cerro Coso and San Bernardino Valley to claim their second straight Inland Empire Athletic Conference championship.
Cerro Coso played tough, but the Lady Eagles fought off the Lady Coyotes 25-20, 26-24, and 25-21. Aleya Starnes led a balanced offensive attack with a match high 12 kills for the MSJC. Luci Villafana had 11 and Ruby Ruiz added 10 in the victory. Alex Sotello had 33 assists to lead the way for the Lady Eagles. Kayla Thompson picked up a match-high 23 digs to lead the defense while Ruiz added 13 and Villafana had 11. Two days later the women of Mt. San Jacinto College cruised to a win on sophomore night as they defeated San Bernardino Valley 25-13, 25-12, and 25-14.
The Lady Eagles traveled to Chaffey Monday, Nov. 15, for their final match of the regular season where they put an exclamation point on their second straight conference championship. MSJC got off to a bit of a slow start as they dropped the opening set to the Panthers 20-25 but came back to win the next three by scores of 25-15, 25-20, and 25-21 to claim victory. The win capped off a second straight Inland Empire Athletic Conference championship and was the first time in the history of the volleyball program that the team had completed league play undefeated.
Ruby Ruiz, playing in her final regular season contest, led the Lady Eagle offense with 20 kills in the match. Aleya Starnes added 13 knock downs and Luci Villafana had 10 on the evening. Alex Sotello had a match high 45 assists while on defense Kayla Thompson had 25 digs. Grace Tapia was strong at the net on defense as she had a solo block and four block assists.
MSJC, who will be making their fourth playoff appearance in the last five years, finish the regular season with an overall record of 17-5 and 10-0 in league. The Lady Eagles, who tied for the 2019 IEAC title, claimed the 2021 championship outright and are automatic qualifiers into the CCCAA Southern California Regional tournament. MSJC’s playoff appearance will be the Eagles fourth in the past five seasons. The” play-in” round will take place against Canyon’s college this week.
Article contributions were made by the MSJC Athletic Department.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
