11/17/10: Volleyball season ends with loss to Pirates

The 2010 volleyball season came to a close for the Saddleback Gauchos with a four-game loss to visiting Orange Coast College, 25-15, 25-21, 17-25, 25-21.

As Saddleback was having trouble winning back-to-back points in the first game, Orange Coast used consistency to jump out to an early lead and cruise to a 25-15 victory. But the Gauchos got motivated in the second game, getting out to a 6-1 lead and holding a slight advantage for most of the game until the Pirates caught up at 20-20. Orange Coast was able to win five of the next six points for a 25-21 win in game two.

Saddleback again got out to an early lead in game three, making less mistakes and taking advantage of Orange Coast's mistakes. A 14-9 lead turned into a 22-17 lead and then became a 25-18 victory. The Gauchos thought they had momentum going into the fourth game, but after the score was tied at 8-8, Orange Coast reeled off seven straight points for a 15-8 advantage. Saddleback would cut into the deficit after trailing 23-17, but the Gauchos' string of points stopped at 21 and Orange Coast was able to win the match with a 25-21 score in game four.

Allyson Horner (left) had 13 kills without an error to lead Saddleback while Morgan Kavanaugh and Melissa Chavez each added 10 kills. Amber Murrietta was credited with 13 defensive digs and Kirby Butterworth added 10 digs. Saddleback also posted 12 solo blocks in the match.

The Gauchos end their season with a 7-15 overall record and a 3-11 mark in Orange Empire Conference play.



11/05/10: Volleyball falls to district rivals

In one of the heated district matchups for the Battle for the Irons, Saddleback dropped a three-game match to visiting Irvine Valley College by scores of 25-19, 25-7, 25-18.

The Lasers (11-6 overall, 6-5 in OEC) led by just one point in game one (20-19) before serving out five consecutive points to give visiting IVC the 25-19 win. The Lasers kept the momentum in game two, jumping out to a 9-1 advantage, extending it to 14-2, and then cruising to a 25-7 win. It was Saddleback’s worst defeat of the year and the first time the Gauchos have been limited to single digits in scoring.

The Gauchos (6-12, 2-8 in OEC) battled hard in the third game, keeping the score tight for most of the game. However, Irvine Valley again was able to push hard at the end of the game, scoring five straight points to turn a 20-18 lead into a 25-18 win.

Saddleback was led by Allyson Horner with seven kills. Morgan Kavanaugh added five kills, five blocks, and two service aces.

10/18/10: Gauchos help out in fight against breast cancer

The Saddleback College women’s volleyball team has joined in on the fight against breast cancer, recently taking part in a fundraising effort being held by a local salon.

The 13 ladies on the Gauchos roster visited Salon Zinnia in San Clemente during the salon’s fundraiser during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Each player paid $10 to get a pink hair extension, helping in the salon’s effort to raise over $2,000 for the cause.

“I think it (the pink hair extension) might clash with the school colors and I’m sorry about that,” said Salon Zinnia owner Jodi Pickering.  “These are amazing young ladies.”

Breast cancer has already touched this team as the mother of one of the team’s members was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in 2003.  She underwent four months of chemotherapy and remains cancer-free today.

“We are proud of the athletic and academic accomplishments obtained by all of our student-athletes each year, but the additional involvement in community projects and with social issues just goes to show the caliber of student-athletes we have,” Saddleback College Athletic Director Tony Lipold said.  “This is a great cause to get involved with and I’m proud of their participation in this event.”  

10/18/10: Volleyball falls in close match to Golden West

Saddleback may have had Golden West on the ropes and in prime position to put the visitors away before allowing the Rustlers to ease back into the match and then slip away with a four-game victory in Orange Empire Conference play on Wednesday evening.

The Gauchos (6-8, 2-4 in OEC) jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first game behind the strong serving of Morgan Kavanaugh (pictured) but saw that lead disappear when the Rustlers (7-6, 3-3 in OEC) tied the score at 10-10. Saddleback pushed out to an 19-13 lead but let Golden West back into the game when the score was tied at 22. Golden West used a service ace to end the first game, 25-23.

Saddleback followed Golden West's lead in game two, falling behind 14-9 before battling back to tie the game at 17s. The score was last tied at 21s before Saddleback scored the final four points to win the game, 25-21. The third game saw Golden West's 21-16 lead slip away on a rotation violation and several long, hard-fought rallies. Saddleback pulled within one at 23-22 but Golden West halted Saddleback's comeback attempt, 25-22.

The Gauchos could not fight back in the fourth game, never getting any closer than three points (11-8) as Golden West went on to win game four 25-17 and take the match.

Kavanaugh had nine kills, four solo blocks, and five service aces to lead the Gauchos while Melissa Chavez added eight kills, Kirby Butterworth totalled 16 defensive digs, and Amber Murrietta distributed 14 assists. The loss drops Saddleback out of a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings.

10/15/10: Gauchos sweep past Santa Ana

The Saddleback women's volleyball team got back on the winning track tonight with a three-game sweep over visiting Santa Ana College. Scores were 25-12, 25-14, 25-9.

Morgan Kavanaugh and Jessica Lopez (pictured) each had six kills for the Gauchos (6-7 overall, 2-3 in conference) with Kavanaugh and Melissa Chavez each tallying three service aces. Kirby Butterworth led Saddleback's defensive effort with 16 digs.

The Gauchos will host Golden West College on Wednesday, October 20, at 6:00 p.m.

10/8/10: Gauchos swept by Chargers

Coming off of a big, five-game victory over Riverside on Wednesday, the Gauchos couldn't maintain the intensity as they dropped three straight games to visiting Cypress College on Friday, 25-18, 25-15, 25-10.

The Gauchos saw a two-point deficit (18-16) quickly grow into a 25-18 loss in game one as the team coupled a few mistakes with Cypress' strong serving. But Saddleback bounced back quickly in game two to jump out to a 5-1 lead. Cypress went on an 11-0 run for a 12-5 advantage, then Saddleback put together a six-point run behind the solid serving of Melissa Chavez and the blocking up front by Morgan Kavanaugh. However, the Gauchos would not get any closer as Cypress finished strong, extending a 16-13 lead into a 25-15 win. Cypress went on to win game three easily, 25-10, despite some long rallies.

Saddleback (5-6, 1-2 in OEC) will travel to Irvine Valley on Wednesday, Oct. 13, to battle the Lasers in the first part of the Battle for the Irons. The Gauchos return home on Friday, Oct. 15, to host Santa Ana College. Both matches begin at 6:00 p.m.

10/7/10: Volleyball picks up first conference win

The women’s volleyball team picked up its first win in Orange Empire Conference play on Wednesday night when it defeated Riverside College, three games to two.  The Gauchos won the final two games of the evening to improve to .500 on the season.

Saddleback had a rough start to the night, losing the opening game 25-11.  The Gauchos quickly bounced back, beating the Tigers 26-24 to even the match and one game apiece.  Trailing three games to two, Saddleback then played arguably its best volleyball of the season, beating Riverside 25-21 in game four before mounting a big comeback in game five.  The Gauchos trailed 14-9 in the final game, before reeling off six straight points to take a 15-14 lead.  Riverside tied the game at 15 before Saddleback scored two straight points to take the match.

Morgan Kavanaugh (pictured left) led the Gauchos with 13 kills and six blocks while Allyson Horner had 31 assists on the evening.  Kirby Butterworth (pictured right) led Saddleback with 13 digs while the Gauchos finished with 13 total blocks on the night.

Saddleback improved to 5-5 on the season and 1-1 in conference play with the win.  The Gauchos will play again on Friday night at home against Cypress College.

10/1/10: Volleyball falls to Fullerton in conference opener

Saddleback's women's volleyball team dropped an Orange Empire Conference match to visiting Fullerton College on Friday evening, falling in straight games 25-13, 25-21, 25-20.

The individual games were much closer than the scores would indicate. The score in each game was tied midway through the game before Fullerton was able to pull ahead.

The match wasn't originally scheduled as a home match. However, the Fullerton campus lost power earlier in the day after a transformer near campus was reportedly hit by lightning. The match was moved to Saddleback and the match on October 27 will be played at Fullerton.

Kirby Butterworth is pictured at the left.


9/27/10: Volleyball reaches consolation finals of Pierce tourney

The difference between playing in the championship match and the consolation match of the Los Angeles Pierce tournament could have been a couple of swings away for the women's volleyball team, which could have qualified for the title match with a few extra points but ended up in the consolation match.

Saddleback opened the tournament against a talented Santa Barbara City College team and won the first game, 25-20. The two teams then battled in the second game and Saddleback had an opportunity to go up two games to none but lost the second game, 28-26. That momentum, coupled with the Gauchos discouragement, allowed Santa Barbara to post 25-20 and 25-18 wins in the next two games to advance to the winners bracket. Melissa Chavez (pictured) had nine kills against the Vaqueros while Morgan Kavanaugh had five solo blocks.

Saddleback had less trouble handling Santa Monica in the consolation bracket, downing the Corsairs in straight games 25-13, 25-23, 25-23 to advance to the consolation title match. Kavanaugh and Chavez each tallied nine kills.

The Gauchos (4-4) would jump out to victories in the first two games against Bakersfield in the consolation title match, winning games by 25-23 and 25-20 counts. But the Gauchos allowed the Renegades back into the match, falling 25-16 and 25-21 to send the match into a final game. Bakersfield prevailed 15-10 for the title. Kavanaugh had 15 kills and five blocks in the match with Chavez adding 11 kills and 10 defensive digs. Jessica Lopez chipped in with 10 kills while Kirby Butterworth added three service aces and 12 defensive digs.

Saddleback will begin Orange Empire Conference play on Friday, October 1, when the Gauchos travel to Fullerton to face the Hornets (3-3) for a 6:00 p.m. match.




9/18/10: Gauchos win two at Santa Ana Quad

Saddleback picked up a pair of wins over the weekend at the Santa Ana Quad, beating both Rio Hondo and Chaffey colleges to improve to 3-2 on the season.

It took the Gauchos four games to get past Rio Hondo. Melissa Chavez led the team with 10 kills while both Morgan Kavanaugh (pictured) and Jessica Lopez added eight kills. The Gauchos then swept Chaffey in three games (25-16, 25-22, 25-23) as Kavanaugh had 12 kills and six solo blocks with Lopez adding eight kills. Chavez and Danielle Van Liefde each added seven kills.

The Gauchos will play in the L.A. Pierce tournament this weekend before opening up Orange Empire Conference play on Friday, October 1, at Fullerton.





9/15/10: Match cancelled when Knights vacate

Saddleback's last home match of the non-conference schedule was cancelled when it was determined that the scheduled opponent, San Diego City College, would not be showing up. Apparently there was some miscommunication in the scheduling of the match.

The vacated date leaves Saddleback (1-2) short on matches for the season, but not in the immediate future. The Gauchos will play two matches on Friday at Santa Ana College, battling both Chaffey and Rio Hondo colleges in back-to-back matches starting at 2:00 p.m. The Gauchos then get an opportunity to practice for a week before taking part in the L.A. Pierce College tournament on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-25, in Woodland Hills.

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Important Information

California Community College Athletic Association volleyball site Volleyball Rules (www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=41)