Cats sweep past Golden West

The Saddleback women's volleyball team defeated Golden West College, 3-0, on Friday night inside the gymnasium.  The Bobcats have now won four straight matches.

The game was billed as a matchup between Orange Empire Conference hopefuls as both teams came into the match with undefeated 2-0 records in conference play.  The Bobcats looked like the better team on Friday, sweeping past Golden West in straight sets.

Saddleback jumped out to a quick lead in the opening set, opening up a 10-4 lead to start.  That gap would widen to 15-7, forcing the Rustlers to take a timeout to regroup.  It wouldn't help as Saddleback ran away for a 25-13 win in the opening game of the match.

The second game had a similar feel, as Saddleback jumped out to a 7-1 lead.  The Bobcats increased the lead to 17-8 as Golden West made a number of unforced errors while Saddleback was hitting on all cylinders.  The Bobcats would cruise to a 25-18 win in the set.

Game three was very different as Golden West jumped out to a 4-0 lead, looking to make a comeback.  The Rustlers looked destined to win when they had a 24-20 lead, looking to close the gap.  That's when Saddleback made a stunning comeback, scoring six straight points to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for a 26-24 win.

Saddleback is now 7-2 overall to start the season and 3-0 in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play.  The Bobcats are one-half game behind Orange Coast College in the conference standings, alone in second place. 

Saddleback will continue conference play next Wednesday when they host Fullerton College inside the gymnasium.  The Bobcats and Hornets are scheduled to start at 6:00 PM.